Beyond Worlds
by LadySnowTheStark
Summary: Have a heart of gold, be brilliant, but stay reckless: Victoria More's taught Jim Kirk every trick in the book, and Leonard McCoy knows he should be terrified, but he isn't. It's hard to be scared of someone who has eyes like hers... even if lying is second nature to her, and she has a bad habit of turning up where she doesn't belong. (Slow burn BonesOC, primarily set post-Beyond)
1. Chapter 1

_2263 – On board_ USS Enterprise-A

She couldn't remember the last time she'd felt so alone.

She could, actually, but the last thing she needed was to focus on exactly what had happened in the Laurentian System almost a decade ago. Ignoring the excruciating pain in her leg – a souvenir from her time in that part of space that she was forced to live with – she continued to limp her way further into the cave-like opening.

There was a good chance that she'd be stuck in here forever if another earthquake struck, she mused, but she didn't have a choice anymore. It was all her fault. The paranoid fear of someone finding her had meant that she hadn't done her job as a Starfleet science officer, the same job she was always telling Jim she was so good at. She had let someone inexperienced handle the mission brief, and now she was stuck limping her way into the cave, possibly the only conscious member of a rescue team that should never have had to have been sent down in the first place. She only hoped she found some of them, _any_ of them, in a condition to get back to the surface.

A fresh pile of rocks tumbled down from the ceiling of the cave in front of her, and she hissed in pain as a few stray pieces hit her shoulder. If it wasn't already dislocated, she would definitely be supporting a bruise tomorrow.

If she even made it to tomorrow.

Cursing herself one last time, she continued to make her way through the narrow passage. There was no light at the end of this tunnel, but the air was fresh, which meant that wherever it ended, it would probably be above ground. A few steps further in, however, she was forced to stop. Her leg was killing her. If she didn't rest now, she wouldn't make it to the end, and then they'd _really_ be screwed.

"As if this could get any worse," she spoke out loud, and the resounding echo assured her that she had a very long way to go before she hit the surface.

Gingerly, she rested her back against the crumbly wall behind her, testing out its strength. Clearly, it wasn't meant to take any support, because she heard the cracking right before she felt the structure give way behind her. Squeezing her eyes shut against the dust and debris, she pushed herself back, hoping to hit some kind of barrier that would save her from the onslaught of rocks.

Instead, her back collided with something hard and warm, and definitely not inanimate. Before she could react, a pair of strong and decidedly human arms were wrapped around her middle, twirling her around and pushing her face-first against the very wall she had been hoping to hit with her back. The person who had saved her pressed up against her, their taller body shielding her from the falling rocks. The noise was deafening, but she was sure she could hear a masculine voice swearing profusely near her ear.

Suddenly, she realized why her heart was racing. The near-death experience via a rock avalanche wasn't what scared her. What terrified her was that this person felt _familiar._

Her worst nightmare was confirmed when the noise ceased and the person pulled away slightly, cursing under his breath as he walked a few steps away from her. The next second, a small light was being shone right at her.

"Who the hell are you?" asked a decidedly familiar voice, the gruff tone easily recognizable.

She grimaced and turned around, meeting a pair of hazel eyes that made her heart skip a beat despite the situation. Sheepishly, she raised a hand in greeting. No point in hiding now. "Hey?"

Leonard McCoy almost dropped his penlight.


	2. Chapter 2

**One**

The Wedding

 _1 month before the 5 year mission._

"Tori More, is that you?"

Victoria More frowned as she turned, spotting the man who had called her by her childhood nickname and shaking her head in disbelief. "Jim Kirk, I should have known. Are you following me?"

"You'd stun me if I tried," boyish charm turned on, Jim Kirk kissed her cheek and gave her a wink that made her roll her eyes. "What are you doing here?"

"I work here," she deadpanned. Fortunately, Jim was used to her humour and merely chuckled. Victoria rolled her eyes and continued to set down glasses onto a table from the tray she carried. "What do you think I'm doing here, in my pyjamas at ten in the morning?"

Jim gave her a look. "You always dress like this so, no offense, Tor, but you kind of _do_ look like you work here."

Victoria sighed. "Where's all the charm gone, Kirk?"

"Sorry," he didn't look sorry. He took the tray from her, allowing her to use both hands to set down glasses, and she gave him a relieved smile. Annoyingly considerate, as always.

"Did you even read the invitation?" she asked finally when she was done. "I'm Ben's sister."

"Sulu married your step-brother?" Jim looked surprised, and then the charm was back. "You know, Tori, if I had known you were here, I wouldn't have brought a date."

Victoria snorted. "You'd have brought one regardless. Who is she?"

Jim nodded towards the group of people entering the garden, among them a pretty blonde woman that she easily identified as his type. "You're slipping," commented Victoria, even as her eyes drifted to a _very_ attractive man with a little girl on his hip. The scowl on his face made her grin – she felt like scowling too. "You left her alone."

"Hard to concentrate on anyone else when you're in the room," said Jim cheekily. Victoria gave him an unamused look. He laughed. "Still grumpy before noon? You're almost as bad as Bones."

"Bones?"

"I told you about him last time I saw you," reminded Jim. "We've been friends since the Academy."

"Ah, yes, the grumpy old man who doesn't let you have any fun," Victoria rolled her eyes. "He's probably the reason you're still alive, so I can't decide if I should send him flowers or not."

Jim laughed, as if she had said the funniest thing in the world. "I've missed you, Tori," he nudged her with the tray playfully.

Victoria's expression softened, but only a little. "I've missed you too, honey, but if you drop those glasses you know I'll hurt you."

"Even you couldn't hurt a face like this."

Victoria gave him a wry smile. "I've done it in the past. I know all your tricks, James Kirk. A girl doesn't babysit a kid like you and learn nothing."

"Guilty," he looked anything but, and held out an arm for her to take when she had put down the last of the glasses. "Come meet the rest of my crew. I think my First Officer is a fan of your work."

"I'd love to, but I need to finish setting up inside, and get dressed," a tired look came over her face, and Jim's face went from teasing to concerned in a second. Victoria smiled. As annoying as the young captain had always been, his heart was bigger than a house. She squeezed his arm. "You save a dance for me, okay? Also," she glanced back at his friends, who had sat down a few ways away from them. "There are a couple of other kids inside, if your friend wants to let his daughter roam around?"

"Oh, yeah. That's Joanna," Kirk nodded. "Demora's inside too?"

"I finally got her to play nice with the Lewis twins from next door," Victoria rolled her eyes. "But she'll love having a girl around, I can introduce them if you –"

"Nah, I'll take her, you go on," Jim gave her one last smile and departed, and Victoria heaved another sigh before walking back into the house. She stopped only long enough to tell her friend Katie that she was going into the shower, kissed the top of Demora's head and ran for the bathroom.

The silence was a relief after the constant noise of the day. Victoria loved her step-brother with all her heart; they were very close, having lived together shortly after her father had married his mother and she had gone from being James Kirk's next door neighbour to the girl who visited his mother once a year. As she scrubbed her body and simultaneously attempted to shampoo her hair, she considered how her situation had changed since the day she had kissed thirteen year old Jim Kirk's forehead before climbing into her dad's truck all those years ago.

Her life revolved around her family, there was no doubt about that. Hikaru had settled in wonderfully a few years ago, and she was pleased at how understanding he had been of their dynamic. More than that, he and Ben had given her Demora, a child full of life and laughter that even made someone as acerbic as Victoria melt. When the little girl had insisted on a party for her parents' wedding, Victoria didn't have the heart to tell her that it would be next to impossible to organize in such a short amount of time, and had let her dream to her heart's content. What had begun as a fantasy turned into a real thing, however, since Victoria had practically begged the two men to let her throw a reception, despite Hikaru's upcoming trip with the _USS Enterprise_ and Ben's impending assignment to Yorktown. It had meant they were forced to go through with the informal event at city hall first, of course, and despite their protests that they didn't _need_ a party, Victoria had been adamant that they would get one.

Getting dressed hurriedly, she decided to look in on the children before finishing up inside. There were a few cousins Demora's age and children of the other guests sprawled around the living-room, playing games and watching something on the television. Victoria checked to make sure Demora hadn't spilled anything on her dress, and then noticed that the little girl Jim had brought in was sitting slightly away from the rest of the group, watching them intently but not unhappily.

"Hi there," Victoria smiled and sat down next to her on the sofa, noting that the child looked at her curiously, but not warily. She held out her hand. "I'm Tori. What's your name?"

"Joanna," she shook her hand gingerly, and then offered her a small smile of her own. "Tori is a funny name."

"It's my nickname. Only the people I like are allowed to use it," she winked.

Joanna smiled wider, some of the seriousness melting away. "I don't have a nickname. My mommy says nicknames are silly, but I'd like to have one."

What kind of a mother said that to a child? Victoria tried not to frown. "Well, your name is very pretty, I'm sure your mother realized you don't need one," she patted her hand comfortingly.

Joanna shrugged. "Uncle Jim calls me Jo sometimes, but that's a boy's name."

She rolled her eyes. "Uncle Jim's a bit of an idiot."

"That's what my dad says. What's Tori short for?" the curiosity in her voice was adorable.

"Victoria," she told her. Joanna's eyes brightened and she giggled. Victoria raised her eyebrows. "What is it?"

"Uncle Jim said you're drop-dead gorgeous," she continued to giggle. Victoria felt herself blushing, and rolled her eyes. Damn Jim Kirk, always trying to either embarrass her or charm her. "I don't know about the dead part," continued Joanna. "My daddy said that's a stupid thing to say when he said it, but you're very pretty."

Victoria laughed. "So are you. I love your hair-clip," she indicated the metal clip that was set into her ponytail.

Joanna smiled wider. "My daddy's friend Scotty made it for me," she said proudly. "He said my daddy is the best doctor in the galagzy."

"Galaxy," corrected Victoria, causing Joanna to grin without embarrassment. Something she had picked up from Jim, no doubt. "Why aren't you playing with the others, Joanna? Were they mean to you?"

Joanna shook her head. "I like watching," she said simply. "It's more fun than playing. And I can't get my dress dirty," she indicated the pale pink frock she was wearing. "Auntie Nyota bought it for me today."

"And it's a lovely dress, but I'm sure your auntie wouldn't mind if you got it dirty as long as you were having fun."

"I don't know if she'd mind. She seems nice though."

 _What a strange child._ Victoria shrugged, then an idea hit her. "Would you like to come and sit with me while I finish getting ready?" she asked. She knew for a fact little girls loved that: Demora was always excited to watch her aunt get dressed up to go out, though perhaps that was because the event was so rare. "I could use the company."

Joanna's eyes lit up, and she nodded enthusiastically. Smiling, Victoria offered her a hand and they hurried to the other room.

 **!**

"I'm surprised Sulu got this whole shindig set up with a month to go," commented Leonard McCoy idly as he swirled his whiskey in his glass.

Next to him, Jim snorted. "Sulu didn't have much to do with it. Ben's sister is a whirlwind."

Recognizing the longing tone of voice, McCoy nearly spat out his drink. "We've been here for a day and you've already slept with Sulu's sister-in-law?" he sounded horrified.

"I wish," Jim sighed, almost forlornly. "She's out of my league, not to mention she's seen me in diapers. Too old for me but around your age, Bones."

"Damn it, man, I'm not _that_ old."

"But she doesn't look it," Jim ignored him. "She's got these gorgeous green eyes, red hair, legs that go on forever, and the most perfect –"

"Please tell me you aren't talking about Victoria," said Sulu dryly as he came up to stand next to them. Jim shrugged, hiding his grin behind his glass. Sulu sighed. "Jim, she's Ben's _sister._ "

"And that means she's _really_ off-limits, Jim," added McCoy, though he couldn't help but be curious about this girl. Older women than her had trouble resisting Jim's charm.

"Well, I've known her since before she was Ben's sister," Jim defended himself. "Doesn't that count for something?"

"How d'you know her anyway?" asked McCoy.

"We were neighbours when I was a kid," Jim got that same look in his eye that McCoy often saw when he talked about his childhood. Instead of frowning into a glass of alcohol, however, he was smiling slightly. "I was three when I walked into her yard and told her I'd run away from home, and she thought that was the funniest thing in the world. She would babysit me after that, before her dad remarried and moved them across the country."

"And you've seen her since?" asked McCoy.

Jim snorted. "She tracks me down wherever I am. She still visits my mom every time she's back, though I haven't seen her in about two years, just before I got command."

"I didn't know they knew each other until Victoria showed me childhood pictures," added Sulu. "Pretty sure she's got one of our captain taking a bath as a toddler."

McCoy chuckled even as Jim turned red and pretended not to be embarrassed. "Is she here?" he craned his neck to catch sight of a woman who fit Jim's description, but couldn't see any redheads nearby.

"She's the one who suggested Joanna go inside. I met her just now, didn't you _see_?" Jim sounded surprised, as if the very idea of Victoria being unnoticed in public was ridiculous.

McCoy rolled his eyes. "I was a little busy."

"Glaring at everything that moves, you mean."

"Shut up, Jim."

"Lighten up, Bones," Jim punched his shoulder, ignoring the look he gave him. "We're at a _wedding_. You know what that means?"

"Open bar?"

"Desperate single women," Jim corrected him impatiently. "Even _you_ can't resist that, Bones."

"I can, and I will," McCoy finished his glass in one and signalled for another. Then he sighed and threw Sulu a look that he hoped was encouraging. "You feelin' good?"

Sulu shrugged. "This is for Demora more than anyone else. She wanted a party; planned the whole thing with Victoria before Ben or I could say anything, while we were planning a trip to city hall. Kids, you know?"

"Yeah. Kids," muttered McCoy, even as he glanced around for his own daughter. Joanna was the only positive thing in his life, and when she had gotten whiff of his five year long departure she had demanded to see him. For an eight-year-old, she was both terrifying and persuasive: her mother had reluctantly put her on a shuttle to San Francisco two hours after he landed, and so he had been forced to bring her to the wedding as well. Personally, he had a feeling Pamela had done it just so Joanna could see how awful he was at being a dad – something his ex-wife had made clear during their custody battle – but he wasn't going to look a gift horse in the mouth.

McCoy wasn't sure if he'd win father of the year for it, but he had to admit that so far, the trip had been a success. The crew – the only friends he had – were bending over backwards to make her comfortable. Uhura had taken her shopping and helped her get ready for the wedding, Jim had entertained her with heroic adventures that painted him as a hero and McCoy himself as his loyal sidekick (he had gotten a kick in the shins for that), Scotty had made her a little metal hair-clip out of the random bits he carried around in his pocket, and even Spock had answered all her questions about Vulcans with a ridiculous amount of patience. She had declared his friends were "awesome", and now he was hoping that letting her out of his sight was fine as well. Demora was a good kid, but he knew next to nothing about the woman who was supervising them, except that Jim was besotted with her.

"It iz time," a grinning Chekov appeared next to them, clapping his hands together and nodding to Sulu. The groom merely rolled his eyes and made his way towards the door of the house, where Ben was waiting for him. The back garden of the large house on the outskirts of the city had been decorated tastefully in shades of blue, green and white, and both men had agreed to let their daughter precede them up the aisle and walk together after her, so she could have her moment in the spotlight. As McCoy settled into one of the surprisingly comfortable chairs scattered around the venue, he couldn't help but sigh wearily. This was going to be a long day.

 **!**

"Tori, you're going to combust," said Katie disapprovingly, watching Victoria apply lipstick hurriedly. She had no idea how her friend even managed to see anything, since her vanity mirror was basically a computer screen that gave them a split-screen view of the back garden filled with guests and the room full of toddlers next to it. A small square barely the size of Victoria's palm was the only mirror on the surface.

"I'm not that bad," Victoria defended herself. "I got lots of sleep last night, didn't I?"

"I think it all looks very pretty," piped up Joanna, looking up from the book Victoria had given her when they entered her bedroom. "Green is my favourite colour."

"Mine too. Thank you, Joanna," Victoria threw her a quick wink, and even Katie smiled at the little girl's obvious affection for the older woman. How it had developed in less than an hour was a mystery to her, but she wasn't surprised. Victoria had that effect on children, she always had.

Nevertheless, she clicked her tongue. "You're overworked."

"I hardly get to do a thing for them, you can't blame me," Victoria shrugged, then sighed and added quietly, so Joanna wouldn't hear: "But damn it all if I don't go to sleep for a week when this is over."

"They didn't even want this," reminded Katie.

"Demora did."

"You need to stop spoiling her, then."

"Shut up," Victoria rolled her eyes. "I'll go to the minister and make sure he's ready, talk to Demora and get the boys. You get the other kids, okay?"

Katie sighed. "Fine. Let's go, Joanna."

"Can I stay with Tori?" asked the little girl, already seeming unwilling to leave.

"Sorry, sweetheart," Victoria turned around and kissed the top of her head, pulling away to tuck Joanna's hair behind her ears and fix her dress. "I've got to run around and make sure everything is ready for the party, but come see me when it's settled, okay?"

"Okay," Joanna sighed, and reluctantly put away the book. Victoria noticed.

"You can keep that, Joanna," she smiled. "I haven't met anyone that interested in exobiology in a long time."

Joanna grinned, easily appeased. "My daddy's a doctor," she told her. "He has books like this everywhere, but they're harder to read."

"That's because these books are specially written for curious little girls and boys like you."

"Which one is this?" asked Katie curiously. Joanna showed her. " _Exobiology for the Budding Scientist._ Only you'd keep science books for kids in your house, Tori."

Victoria grinned, blew them both a kiss and watched them leave. Another glance at the monitor showed that Katie was ushering out the rest of the children, and people had started to take their seats outside. She let out another breath, checked her hair in the mirror, and made her way outside.

The minister was waiting for her by the door, smiling comfortingly at her harried expression. She smiled back, caught Demora around the waist before the little girl could run away – she had a habit of disappearing when she was most wanted – and settled her down on the edge of the path that was winding up towards the podium.

"You okay, Dem?" she asked, bending down to help fix the bow in her hair.

Demora nodded confidently. "I can do it, Aunt Tori, I promise."

"I know you can, honey," she kissed her forehead. "I'll be right in front if you want to take a break, okay? All you have to do is give me the signal."

Demora nodded again. Victoria gave her one last kiss, and then escorted the minister to the podium. She sat down on the groom's side, ignoring Jim's appreciative gaze and throwing Joanna a small smile. She was seated primly between Jim and the man she assumed was her father, who had exchanged his previous scowl for a look of tiredness. Victoria tried to catch his eye, but he was gazing determinedly in front. She gave up, and turned to watch Demora.

Unlike Hikaru and most definitely unlike Ben, Demora loved attention. Victoria often joked that she should have been her daughter instead of her brother's. The little girl thrived off applause and recognition, and the constant absence of one of her fathers was the reason they all tried to ensure she got everything she could possibly need. Of course, she had not _needed_ the wedding per se, but Victoria knew her brother, and she knew Hikaru more than he realized. A sense of normalcy was never a bad thing, and normal people had weddings and threw parties, even if it was on a time crunch.

Head held high, Demora walked down the aisle, throwing rose petals along the path. As instructed, she threw them up high, and they glittered different colours of the rainbow in the air, turning white as they landed on the ground. Victoria heard a few appreciative gasps from the guests, and the dark-skinned woman from Hikaru's crew clapped her hands together in appreciation. Next to her, the Vulcan quirked an eyebrow, and it made Victoria smirk. She could hear Jim laughing at his reaction.

Hikaru and Ben followed their daughter up the aisle, and Ben picked her up in his arms once they reached. Victoria let out a sigh of relief when the minister began to speak, and promptly tuned out all the rest of the ceremony, until she saw her brother and Hikaru both press a kiss to either of Demora's cheeks, causing the little girl to giggle adorably.

The guests clapped, and she laughed quietly before turning away. The ceremony was over, and now the party had to begin.


	3. Chapter 3

**Two**

"Tori is _so_ nice, dad, you'd like her," said Joanna matter-of-factly as she dug into her second piece of cake. "She has the coolest books on doctors ever."

"I think you mean books on medicine, Joanna," said McCoy, his normally gruff voice indulgent as he wiped his daughter's mouth with a napkin and allowed her to continue eating her second slice of cake. "And I can't imagine a little girl havin' books like that."

"They're for _kids_ ," stressed Joanna. "She gave me one too! I put it in Auntie Nyota's bag."

"That was nice of her," McCoy smiled. "I'm glad you made a friend."

"She's pretty too, daddy," Joanna continued to shovel cake into her mouth. "Uncle Jim said –"

"Bones!"

"Talk of the devil," McCoy groaned and turned to face his friend. "What is it, Jim?"

"You sound grumpier than usual!" Jim sat down next to him heavily, eyeing Joanna's cake with interest. "How's the cake, Jo?"

"Delicious," Joanna informed her. "Do you want some, Uncle Jim?"

"Nah, I'll get some later," he patted her head affectionately, then turned his eyes to McCoy. "How mad would you be if I hung around this place for the night?"

"For God's sake, Jim," McCoy rolled his eyes. "Just once, leave the damn single women in this place _alone_."

"That is a highly illogical request to make of someone with the captain's temperament, Dr. McCoy," said a flat voice from behind them. McCoy groaned as Spock and Uhura joined the group, but Spock didn't even blink. "We all know the captain will do as he pleases with the willing females available at this gathering."

"What will he do?" asked Joanna curiously. Spock opened his mouth to respond, but Uhura nudged him softly and shook her head, while McCoy hastily changed the subject.

"You were talking about your friend, Joanna. Isn't she around somewhere?"

"She said I could go find her after the ceremony," replied Joanna, previous conversation completely forgotten. "Can I go, dad?"

"Stay inside the garden," said McCoy, helping her down from her chair. "Don't get lost, okay?"

"I won't," she darted off into the crowd. Fortunately, there were less than fifty people present, so he could keep an eye on her easily. When she stopped near a group of little girls, he figured she'd found her friend, and allowed himself to join in the conversation with his crew-mates.

"Mr. Sulu's sister-in-law is a science officer aboard a ship, is she not?" were they _still_ talking about the elusive woman he had yet to see?

Jim nodded at Spock's question. "Yeah, she was with the _Omega_ up until last year. I think she's taken a ground assignment now, last I heard."

"I am assuming the colour-changing petals were her creation," said Spock.

"You'd assume right, Spock," grinned Jim. "She's a whiz with plants, but she– you can ask her yourself, actually. I see her." And he promptly ran away.

McCoy sighed. "Why do I feel like we're raising him as the years go by?"

"You and me both," said Uhura, sitting down next to the CMO and offering him a grim smile as Spock excused himself. "Victoria will take him off our hands, though."

"You have met Dr. More?" asked Spock curiously.

"Not personally, but I've heard Jim talk about her. He says she can shut him up like no other."

"That's a flattering picture," said an amused voice from behind them. "What have you been saying about me, Jim?"

"All good things," replied Jim easily. His friend appeared in his line of sight and gave him a look that told him to be social. Grudgingly, McCoy turned around.

The first thought that came into McCoy's head was that he was glad he wasn't as young and reckless with his reactions as Jim. Though it got the captain into more trouble than either of them would like to admit, McCoy did sometimes envy his friend's carefree attitude. However, at this very moment he was grateful he could school his expression into one of indifference because Jim, for once, hadn't been exaggerating when he'd said Victoria More was beautiful. She really was. Her build was athletic and she was tanned, but it was clearly from working outside rather than artificial. Her green eyes were the colour of moss, matching her emerald coloured dress. McCoy had never paid any attention to what women wore – a fact his ex-wife had loved highlighting – but he found himself unable to look away from her body in that dress. It had one of those tight waists and flaring hems that just brushed her knees, the perfect mix of modest and sexy. He couldn't remember the last time he had seen a woman that _Jim_ was interested in wear a dress that didn't look like it was bursting at the seams. To top it all off, she had a mane of dark red hair that was twisted up into a bun, and the single curl resting against her cheek made the rest of her skin glow in contrast. She was mesmerising.

Almost as if she had caught him staring, her gaze shifted from Uhura and Jim to his face, and he saw she was still smiling. The look in her eyes was expectant. Damn it, now he'd _have_ to talk to her, and in proper sentences too.

Jim unknowingly rescued him by clapping a hand to his shoulder and grinning. "Don't tell me I forgot to introduce Bones to you, Dr. More."

"Bones?" Victoria's perfect eyebrows shot up at the name, and she gave McCoy a look. " _The_ Bones? _You're_ Bones?"

Now what was _that_ supposed to mean? He wondered if Victoria had realized how she sounded. Clearly, she had, because a second later she turned red. McCoy snorted. _Women_. "Don't say it like that, darlin'," he drawled out, deliberately turning back to his drink and giving her a slightly cold look over the rim of the glass. "You might hurt my feelings."

There was silence around them for approximately ten seconds after his words. Only Jim was grinning, as if he knew something nobody else did. Victoria had looked embarrassed before he had spoken, and McCoy had expected a mumbled apology, if that. However, her reaction to his reply threw him off. One minute she was blushing and avoiding eye contact, and the next she was laughing, one hand covering her mouth to hide her smile and the other holding out for him to shake. He took it, slightly confused by her reaction.

"I like this one, Jim," she said, her eyes never leaving his face. There was a wicked smirk on her face. "Try not to get him killed."

Oh, she was _funny_. On impulse, McCoy tugged at her hand slightly so he could press a kiss to her knuckles, matching her smirk with one of his own when he looked back up. Something in her eyes told him she appreciated his reaction. "He tries to do the opposite," he told her.

The tension was effectively broken. Only Jim was paying attention to them now. He leaned back against the table and nudged McCoy with his elbow. "I only try to keep him young, Tor."

"If by that you mean giving me more grey hairs than necessary, it's a successful mission," replied McCoy dryly.

Victoria shook her head smilingly. "I don't envy you," she said to McCoy, sipping her own drink. "He was the most difficult kid I've ever seen, and I used to be a teacher."

"You taught Starfleet cadets!" protested Jim. "There's no comparison!"

"Honey, you were a handful at seven as much as any of those kids were at twenty with a phaser-gun in their hands," Victoria rolled her eyes.

"You're a weapons specialist?" asked McCoy in surprise. Hadn't someone said she was a scientist?

Victoria grimaced. "Hell no. I'm a scientist. I just like shooting things. Targets," she said quickly, as if realizing how that sounded. "Not people. _Definitely_ not people. Or animals. Or plants. I love plants," she took a deep breath. "Sorry. It's been a long day. I must sound insane."

"You don't," McCoy tried to reassure her, but even he wasn't so sure. Jim had wandered away, as had the others. However, he found himself unwilling to follow them. Victoria seemed nice enough – though clearly her small-talk skills left much to be desired – and he was reluctant to let go of a _somewhat_ sane woman who clearly didn't mind an intelligent conversation, and one that Jim wouldn't sleep with. It helped that she was gorgeous. He gave her a few seconds to try and escape herself, and when she merely sipped her drink and politely looked the other way, he finally spoke. "What field?"

There was a smile in her eyes when she turned to face him, as if she was relieved he hadn't questioned her sanity further. "Alien ecologies. I graduated with a minor in exobiology," she tilted her head to the side. "And what do you do?"

McCoy raised an eyebrow. "Jim's told you about me, but he hasn't told you what I do?"

"Well, he's Jim," Victoria said it like it was obvious. "He hadn't told you what I did either until one of you asked him, I bet."

Despite himself, McCoy chuckled. "Fair enough," he acquiesced. "Leonard McCoy, at your service. CMO of the _Enterprise_."

"Oh, you're a _medical_ doctor," she sounded delighted. "That makes so much more sense. No wonder he's always going on about you saving him."

McCoy winced. "What exactly has he been saying about me?"

"Nothing too awful," Victoria waved a hand idly, sitting down in the empty seat next to him without invitation as if it was the most natural thing in the world. "I haven't seen him in ages, last time I did was before Admiral Pike's death," she grimaced. "That wasn't a good time for any of us, was it? But I suppose I should explain why I laughed at you," the switch in topic threw McCoy off for a second, but then her cheeks turned pink again and he lost his train of thought. "Please don't be offended, it had nothing to do with you or that atrocious name Jim calls you," McCoy snorted in appreciation of her disdain for his hated nickname. "It's just that whenever he talks about you, he makes you sound so _old!"_

Ah, that explained it. McCoy snorted. "Darlin', I _am_ old."

"Hardly," Victoria rolled her eyes. "I was expecting a man in his sixties at least, but I should have known Jim would exaggerate. I can't blame you, I got my first grey hair two weeks after I started babysitting him, and I was all of thirteen."

McCoy chuckled. "Can't beat that."

"Don't even try," she winked at him, the action clearly not at all meant as flirtatious and yet McCoy was aware of just how flirtatious it could be. Victoria returned to people watching, her drink almost gone. She was swirling the ice in her glass absently when a large smile broke out over her face, and McCoy followed her gaze curiously to see what was making her look so happy.

It was Joanna.

Victoria laughed as the little girl threw herself at her, and patted her hair. McCoy was about to apologize for her behaviour – he figured that would be the polite thing to do even though he personally thought the way Joanna had greeted her was adorable – but he was thrown off when his daughter ignored him completely and looked up at Victoria with worship in her eyes. "I looked for you _everywhere_!" she said dramatically, already climbing up into the woman's lap and settling herself comfortably. "I even asked – oh, hi, dad," Joanna turned her head and spotted her father, giving him a wide smile.

"Joanna," McCoy looked from his daughter to Victoria curiously. "What're you –"

"Dad, this is my friend, Tori," Joanna spoke as if her father was slow and needed to be explained things like a Neanderthal. McCoy blinked. Hadn't Tori been a little girl? "The one Uncle Jim called drop-dead gorgeous and you said –"

"Right!" he interrupted his daughter loudly, unwilling to expose himself as a crank so soon.

Victoria cleared her throat in amusement. "I've already met your dad, Joanna," she said, sounding as though she wanted to laugh. "Your Uncle Jim just introduced us."

"He did?" Joanna looked surprised. "Do you know Uncle Jim as well, Tori?"

"I used to babysit him, when he even younger than you are now," Victoria told her.

Joanna looked even more surprised at this piece of news. "But that's so _long_ ago!"

Victoria shrugged. "A little bit, yeah."

"You must be my dad's age then!"

"Joanna –" McCoy tried to warn his daughter to stay polite, but it was no use. She still looked irrevocably curious, and Victoria's expression told him that the woman was going to indulge her.

"I probably am," said Victoria easily, not sounding the least bit offended. "Your Uncle Jim was just an awful kid, though."

 _"Really?"_

"Uh-huh," nodded Victoria seriously. "One time he got so dirty outside in one of the fields I had to hose him down in the back garden with the pigs."

Joanna burst out laughing. McCoy blinked. "Is that –"

"True? Yup," Victoria grinned. "He was five. Unfortunately, I think he enjoyed it more than I wanted him to," she grimaced. "I didn't have the heart to punish him properly, I never did. The kid was just adorable. But _you're_ much cuter," she turned her attention back to Joanna just as her giggles were subsiding, and Joanna beamed at the compliment.

McCoy smiled, and then cleared his throat. "Where's Jim now, Joanna?"

Joanna shrugged. "Talking to Katie, I think."

Victoria sighed. "Best to leave him at it," she told McCoy. "Katie will send him back to us with his tail between his legs."

"Uncle Jim has a tail?" ah, there was that damned curiosity again. McCoy took another swig of his drink to avoid answering. If Victoria More wanted to befriend his daughter, he certainly wasn't going to stop her.

And it seemed that was exactly what Victoria wanted to do. She nodded seriously at Joanna's question. "Yes, sweetheart, and a pair of devil horns to match."

 _"What?"_ Joanna sounded amazed.

"And since your daddy is the best doctor in the whole galaxy he has to fix Uncle Jim before they go for their next mission," they both smiled, as if in on an inside joke – how had they developed inside jokes in less than two hours of knowing each other? – and Victoria threw McCoy a smirk. "But he's said he'll only do it if he's nice to girls."

McCoy had to laugh at that. "Sounds about as possible as pigs flying."

"Stranger things have happened," smiled Victoria.

Joanna ignored her father. "Is that why he told Katie she has the prettiest eyes he's ever seen? He told me that this morning," she pouted.

Victoria's lips twitched. "Something like that. Hey, you want to go get party favours for everyone?"

Joanna's eyes lit up, and when Victoria had pointed out the appropriate table and usher to her, the little girl ran off, promising to be back soon. When she was gone, both adults let out simultaneous sighs, then caught each other's eyes and chuckled.

Victoria tugged at a loose curl sheepishly. "Sorry, I thought it would be best if she didn't ask any more questions about Jim's technique."

"Probably best that she doesn't learn any of that stuff for a while now," agreed McCoy. "She's already more fond of him than I'd like."

"I don't think you have to worry about Jim breaking your daughter's heart, Doctor," said Victoria amusedly.

"Yeah, well," McCoy shrugged. "I'm a dad."

Victoria smiled, a little sadly. "And your little girl is very special."

McCoy smiled back, and then cleared his throat. "Yeah, 'bout that. Look, I didn't realize you were the friend she was goin' on about. I hope she didn't bug you too much."

Victoria waved away his feeble attempt at an apology. "I enjoyed every second of it. And she talks about you quite a bit."

"I don't doubt that," he said wryly. "She's a talker."

"Never a bad thing," she smiled again. She smiled too much. It didn't seem real. "So, Dr. McCoy."

"Yes, Dr. More?"

Victoria laughed. "No one's called me that in a while," she admitted. "I haven't been on a ship in over two years."

"Jim mentioned," Victoria snorted at that, but McCoy's curiosity was piqued again. "Any reason why?"

"Hikaru has the _Enterprise_ , and Ben is completely incapable of raising a little girl on his own," replied Victoria immediately. "I've been on baby-duty for a while, but now Demora's old enough to start school. I'm going to try and find another assignment soon."

"Don't let Jim hear you say that," warned McCoy. "He'll get you stuck with us for the next five years."

Victoria looked genuinely horrified at the idea. "No offense, Doctor, but I've heard enough about the _Enterprise_ 's escapades to know that is _definitely_ not the ship for me."

"I thought so too," muttered McCoy. "And look where I am now."

Victoria smiled. "Well, if nothing else, I can assure you that your daughter will have her pick of assignments if she decides to join Starfleet one day. She's very bright."

"She is," he agreed. "Wants to be a doctor, but she's a damned good artist too. And musician. Violin," he didn't know if he was babbling, or if he was being a normal, proud father and listing off his daughter's accomplishments. He hadn't had a lot of practice in either area.

Either way, Victoria didn't seem to mind. She looked interested. "At such a young age? That's truly impressive. I gathered her intelligence when I spoke to her, of course, but she seemed to prefer her own company."

"She's like that," and it was his damned fault too. "Doesn't take well to strangers. I'm surprised she likes you so much."

"I'm easy to like," her smile went from polite to teasing in a second. "I suppose Jim has told you all about that, though."

"He wanted to," snorted McCoy. "I didn't let him finish."

"Thank God for that."

He chuckled. They sat in silence for a few moments, Victoria clearly people-watching and McCoy was oddly content to just sit next to her, feeling no need to break the quiet. What would he say anyway? Victoria was clearly a talker – he'd let her come up with something. He finished his drink and glanced over at her, noticing that her glass was empty. Why hadn't she gotten up to get a refill? Rolling his eyes, he plucked the glass from her grip and shook his head at her silent question. Giving her a small smile that told her he'd be back, he went over to the bar. However, in the barely thirty seconds it took him to get back, Jim had already taken his place.

"You know it's true, Tori," he seemed to be asking her something.

"Shut up, Jim," was her only response. McCoy kicked Jim's shin and pointedly indicated for his friend to move out of his seat, which he did unwillingly. Victoria accepted her glass with a quiet thanks, took a sip and then threw him an amused look. "This is rather strong, Doctor."

"You looked like you needed it," was his only reply. He searched the vicinity for Joanna, located her at Uhura's side, and switched his gaze back to Victoria. "Jim can be a pain in the ass."

"You're telling me," Victoria rolled her eyes. "Why didn't you ask my friend Katie to dance, Jim?" she indicated a blonde woman standing by the bar, a bored look on her face. "She's single, pretty, and she won't call you if you don't call her."

"Just his type," said McCoy dryly.

"Quite," agreed Victoria, taking another sip.

"I brought a date," said Jim defensively.

Victoria rolled her eyes. "Tell me, Doctor, has that ever stopped him before?"

McCoy snorted. "Not since I've known him."

"You two need to stop talking about me like I'm not here," said Jim pointedly.

"Shut up," they both said simultaneously. Victoria laughed. McCoy took a large gulp of whiskey.

Jim sighed. "Two of the grumpiest people I've ever met. How are we friends?"

"I've changed your diapers," replied Victoria promptly.

"And I've had to put you in adult diapers," added McCoy.

There was a beat of silence, and then Victoria laughed. " _Have_ you now?"

Jim look horrified. "Bones!"

McCoy rolled his eyes. "Just leave the lady alone, Jim."

Without a word, his captain stalked off. McCoy snorted, then glanced at the woman next to him. Before he could say anything – though in retrospect he realized he didn't really have anything to say – Spock arrived again.

"Dr. More," Spock nodded to her politely. "I have been meaning to speak to you and express my admiration. Your work is of exceptional quality."

"Thank you, Mr. Spock," Victoria gave him a smile. McCoy wondered if that was her default expression. "I admit I am a fan. Hikaru speaks very highly of you. I hope you read my work to analyse, rather than criticise."

Spock seemed surprised at her comment. "Critique is a general result of careful analysis."

"Critique is a synonym for analysis," replied Victoria. "However, I find that _criticism_ only results in offense, rather than improvement, especially in humans," she raised an eyebrow. "Surely improvement is more beneficial?"

The half-Vulcan almost smiled. "Your logic is sound, Dr. More."

"We are at a wedding, Mr. Spock. Victoria, please."

"Very well. I find myself fascinated with the petals your niece threw a few moments ago," Spock looked downright curious, if it was possible for a Vulcan to do so. McCoy just wanted to go home. "I have not seen flowers of that nature."

"That is because they do not exist in nature," said Victoria simply.

"You created them?" now he knew Spock was impressed. Hell, even he was.

"In a manner of speaking," Victoria nodded and tapped her fingers against her glass, brows furrowed as she seemed to consider how to phrase her thoughts. "I dabble in botany quite a bit. The thing about the field is that manually creating something from scratch results in an artificial being, and that goes against the very idea of nature. Enhancing cells and changing gene structures, however, those kinds of things merely result in improvements. Within ethical boundaries, of course," she added. "I would never presume to experiment on things that are better left untouched."

"That is an interesting notion, Doctor. You were a science officer aboard the _USS Omega_ , were you not?" asked Spock.

Victoria nodded. "Yes, I was reassigned two years ago but I took some time off instead to work at the Academy. Starfleet is insistent that I join another ship."

"Would that appeal to you?" asked Spock. Again, McCoy raised his eyebrows. What was the Vulcan getting at?

"I suppose it would depend on the nature of the research and the projects involved," replied Victoria carefully. They exchanged glances momentarily, and McCoy remembered her reluctance to join the _Enterprise_. "I'm not averse to space, of course, but I do like it when my feet are planted firmly on the ground that I'm working on."

"Amen to that," muttered McCoy, taking another swig of his drink.

Next to him, Victoria seemed amused. "Do you not like space travel, Doctor?"

"I could do without it," he admitted unashamedly.

"It is not space that the doctor dislikes as much as our captain's desire for trouble," added Spock.

Victoria laughed. "Jim Kirk is going to be the death of us all," she agreed.

"I hate it how you talk about me when I'm not there!" and he was back, swinging an arm around McCoy and grinning foolishly at Victoria, who merely rolled her eyes. "Has Spock tried to hire you yet?" he turned to the Vulcan and threw him a conspiratorial look. "I know he wants to."

Victoria sighed. "Jim, honey, go inside and lie down before you break something. Or before I hurt you," she added as he tried to interrupt her, the threatening tone of voice seeming to sober up the captain. Though he clearly did not mean to go lie down, he did straighten up and sit down in the vacant chair opposite her. "Such a child," she muttered. "How do you deal with him?"

"I sedate him a lot," replied McCoy, finishing his drink.

"Wish I'd had that idea when he was a kid," muttered Victoria, finishing her own and glancing up at him with a smile. This time, he knew it was a real one.

 **!**

"The doctor thinks you're cute."

"Shut up, Katie."

"Ask him to dance."

" _You_ ask him!"

"Are we in high school?" Katie rolled her eyes and swiped away Victoria's drink. She raised her eyebrows at her friend's scowl. "Look pretty, he's staring at you."

"His daughter likes me, that's why he's looking here!"

Katie sighed. "Honey, it's been a while. You need to get laid, and he's a single dad with a kid who loves you."

Victoria faltered for only a second before her glare came back full-force. "Did you _ask_ him if he's single?"

"I didn't have to," Katie shrugged. "Your friend Jim is very forthcoming."

Victoria groaned. "I will _not_ sleep with Jim Kirk's best friend!"

"Should I be offended?"

"Get lost, Jim."

"You talk to her," Katie sighed, gave Jim a smile that would ordinarily have made Victoria suspicious if she had the energy to argue, and walked off to find the rest of their friends.

Jim took her vacated seat at the bar next to Victoria and gave her a grin. "You feeling okay, Tori?"

"I am absolutely fine," Victoria stirred her drink with her pinky finger, her eyes automatically darting to where McCoy sat with a sleeping Joanna in his lap. He was talking to one of Ben's friends, a CMO on another ship. She had no idea why she kept looking at him.

"What're you looking at?" Jim sounded like a five year old.

Victoria scowled. "None of your business."

"I bet you'd love to be all up in _his_ business, maybe I should –"

"If you complete that sentence, James Kirk, I will feed you to the man-eating plant I keep hidden in the garden shed."

Jim chuckled, but his eyes darted to the innocent-looking shed in the corner of the lawn anyway. It was padlocked. He cleared his throat. "Right, no more teasing. I can do that. How have you been?"

Victoria smirked, took another sip of her drink, and fell into easy conversation with the man she privately thought of as a little brother. Outwardly, of course, she would always act as though he was a pain. It was always a good idea not to highlight just how much Jim Kirk meant to you – he had a habit of using that to his advantage.

"Spock keeps wondering why Starfleet didn't sign you up for the _Enterprise_ ," said Jim thoughtfully.

Victoria snorted. "Because you have the best science officer in Starfleet on your ship."

"Even Spock isn't infallible, Tori."

"If anyone can claim to be so, Jim, he can."

"But he could use some help," persisted Jim.

"Like me?"

"I can't think of anyone better."

Victoria sighed. "Honey, I know I'm no Vulcan, but even I'm smart enough to know working under Spock would mean being demoted."

"His job isn't _that_ interesting. You would hate overseeing stupid stuff like shift rotas anyway," shrugged Jim. "Spock _loves_ that stuff. The man would make a bathroom rota if we'd let him."

Victoria giggled. "Be that as it may," she said. "I was head of the department on the _Omega_."

"You're brilliant and you don't deserve to be demoted, I agree," there was no false flattery in his voice. "But we _do_ need a junior science officer, and with the Admirals deciding that Spock needs to devote more time to his duties as First Officer, I can't think of a better fit."

Victoria quirked up an eyebrow. "Are they making him do that to keep you out of trouble?" Jim grinned unashamedly. She shook her head. "You're impossible. But anyway, you don't have control over who they hire."

"Actually, I do," he continued to grin cheekily. "You say the word and you're in, Tori. We could use someone like you."

"You'd get me killed in a day, Jim. I know what your ship is like."

"We run into trouble," admitted Jim. "But we get out of it."

"I won't be that lucky," Victoria shook her head. "You're sweet for offering, but you know the answer. Plus, these guys need me."

"You always do this, Tori," Jim's voice became uncommonly gentle. "You said the same thing when you left Iowa, but _you_ need you as well. You'd love the _Enterprise_. Five years of exploring places and ecologies that no one has ever seen, don't tell me that doesn't tempt you?"

Victoria sighed. "It does, but it's not possible."

"Ben wouldn't want you to give up your career for him and his family."

"Honey, I know you mean well, but family means two very different things to us," Victoria's gentle smile took the sting off her words. "But I love that you're trying to look out for me. You've got a good heart, Jim Kirk."

"We both know my heart will always be yours," he winked at her roguishly, and the moment was gone. Victoria smacked his arm, finished her drink and held out a hand. Jim took it, grinning at her excitedly. "You still dance?"

"Better than you," Victoria smirked and allowed him to lead her onto the dancefloor, glad that she had ensured the music that played throughout the evening would be at an average tempo, not too slow and not too fast. Nevertheless, it didn't stop Jim Kirk from twirling her around excessively and ending their song with a dip, laughing freely as she cursed him for surprising her. Some things clearly never changed.


	4. Chapter 4

**Three**

The Party

 _Three years later – Shore-leave on the Yorktown base_

"You sure you're okay with this, Tori?" asked Sulu uneasily as he watched his sister-in-law bustle around the kitchen. "You really don't have to –"

"Don't be silly," Victoria gave him a look from behind her cookbook, which she was consulting. "You haven't seen Ben and Demora in such a long time, and I know your crew-mates would appreciate human contact that isn't confined to a starship."

"Yeah, but you're doing too much," persisted Sulu. "They don't need this much attention, Tori."

"I know," she waved him off. "But you want to help?" he nodded, seeming relieved. "Great, you can look after stuff while I head to the docking-bay and check on a new shipment coming in."

Sulu nodded again, taking Victoria's spot in the middle of the kitchen and eyeing the many pots and pans bubbling over the stove happily with an uneasy look. Victoria ignored his obvious discomfort, threw off her apron and pressed a quick kiss to his cheek before darting out of the room, yelling out to Ben that she would be home later. As the door kicked shut behind her, Sulu sighed heavily.

He loved Victoria, he really did. She was more than either him or Ben deserved; after all, she had picked up her life and transferred to Yorktown to be with Ben over a year ago when he had expressed concerns over managing work and his daughter alone. While Sulu was glad he had ended up bringing Victoria with him, he pitied the woman. She split her time between home, Demora and work, never pausing long enough to think about what exactly she was working for. She barely had friends – Katie was still in San Francisco, and though she exchanged regular emails with himself and Jim Kirk, he knew she had no one else who cared about her. There was no boyfriend either: Ben had asked her in front of him once, and she had laughed, as if the question itself was ridiculous.

"Anyone here?" Ben poked his head into the kitchen. He saw his husband inside and smiled, but then noticed Sulu's expression. "What is it?"

"Worried about Tori," shrugged Sulu. Ben sighed, clearly needing no more explanation to understand what he meant. "She should go on an assignment, Ben."

"I've told her she's welcome to go when she wants, but she keeps putting it off," said Ben exasperatedly. "I think it has something to do with dad."

Sulu frowned. "But she gets along with Patrick."

"She hasn't seen him since before we left Earth," admitted Ben. "When he came to the house to say goodbye, she was out running errands. I don't think she saw him after that."

That was odd. It was impossible _not_ to get along with Victoria – she had a knack for making people feel at ease, though after knowing her for years Sulu was aware that her skill lay in the fact that she never opened up to anyone enough for them to have a problem with her. "And what about Marissa?" he asked. His mother-in-law was always kind to Victoria.

"You know what she's like about mom," Ben sighed. "They get along, but she's not her mom the same way dad's my dad. Did she say something to you, though?" he asked worriedly. "I keep telling her, Hikaru, that if she needs to go back home she should, but she's convinced herself she can't leave Demora and me alone."

"You should convince her that she can," said Sulu, but shook his head at his husband's look of confusion. "No, not right now. Though, you could start by checking the oven," he glanced at it uneasily. "Should it be making that noise?"

Ben chuckled and went towards it, adjusting the knobs and shaking his head. "Pilot of the Federation flagship, but he's scared of ovens."

Sulu rolled his eyes. "Replicators work just fine."

"Don't let Tori hear you say that. We've only got one, and she hates using it."

"Of course she does. Tori is from the twentieth century."

Ben chuckled and straightened up, reaching out a hand for his husband. "And we wouldn't have her any other way."

Sulu grasped his hand back, smiling fondly. "No, we wouldn't."

 **!**

"Right, send that over to the shipment heading to New Vulcan and get me the Orion ambassador's information so I can send in my report," Victoria nodded to the ensign listening to her instructions, who hurried away to complete his tasks. Once she had finished, she adjusted her headset and connected back to the line running from Earth, continuing to tap away on her PADD furiously. The ensuing conversation coming from her earpiece made her frown. "What? No, Commander, I've got it under control here, we're having issues because we've got – no sir, I understand… Yes, sir… No, sir… Yes, sir."

The call ended abruptly, and she groaned. Making a mental note to get something for her headache, she turned to another ensign who was standing by and clearly waiting for her to be finished before approaching. "What is it?" she asked, rather snappishly.

The younger woman balked. "Checklist for the _USS Enterprise_ 's medical department."

"Give it here," without waiting, Victoria snatched the PADD and read through it quickly, her frown getting deeper. "Why the hell do they need so many hyposprays? Actually, wait, don't answer that," she typed in her authorization code and handed the PADD back to the ensign. "I've okayed it but I want a full report on what they're being used on, we don't have an endless supply and the damn _Enterprise_ isn't the only ship docking here."

"You're giving Bones more paperwork? I knew there was a reason I loved you."

The ensign looked equally amused and horrified, as if the very idea of the handsome blonde captain chatting up her superior was foreign to her. To her surprise, Victoria did not immediately bite the man's head off. Instead, she smiled and held out her arms, laughing softly.

"What are you doing hanging around here?" demanded Victoria when Jim was done kissing both her cheeks and winking at the ensign behind her. Rolling her eyes, she shooed the younger woman away and raised an eyebrow at the blonde captain. "I thought you were coming over for dinner tonight."

"I am, but Scotty sent a message that he wanted to run something by me about the ship before we left," explained Jim, linking arms with Victoria and dragging her off in the direction of the _Enterprise_ without waiting for her response. "I left Bones there to argue with him. I heard some officers talking about how Dr. More was back and they needed to get the shipment checked before they loaded it up, so I came to fall at your feet like a true romantic."

Victoria gave him a sideway look. "I'm not letting you smuggle alcohol onto your ship."

Jim gave her an innocent smile. "Why would you think I was –"

"Because you're you," snorted Victoria. Nevertheless, she squeezed his arm. "How have you been?"

"Great," he said faux-happily. Victoria stopped, pulling Jim to a stop with her. ignoring his sound of protest, she placed her hands on his shoulders and took a good look at him. It was hard for Jim Kirk to fool her; his voice lacked the usual enthusiasm, his eyes had bags under them, and there was something off about his smile. Even his posture was all wrong; that annoying swagger was there, but it looked forced instead of natural. Still, he looked happy to see her, though obviously keen to avoid her commenting on his behaviour. "I forgot you were at Yorktown until Bones mentioned seeing you the day we docked."

"I would have tried to find you, but I had just run a double shift and I wanted to go home," said Victoria apologetically. She wouldn't interrogate him, at least not now. The only reason Jim loved her as much as she did was because she knew when to keep her mouth shut, and there was no point giving him a hard time about something she could tell he was already torn up about. But, when she realized what he had said, she frowned. "Wait, you _forgot_?"

Jim smiled sheepishly. "Your last email said you were working as a shipment supervisor. I thought it was a joke."

"It wasn't," Victoria nudged him playfully. "I'm biding my time, Kirk. I'll get on a ship soon enough."

"If I didn't know better, Tori, I'd say you're afraid of flying," teased Jim. "You wouldn't join _my_ ship because it'd be a demotion, but you're here yelling at ensigns and making checklists."

"The amount of satisfaction you get from yelling at unqualified and inept young kids is endless, Jim," said Victoria solemnly as they neared the _Enterprise_.

"Then I don't get why Bones likes yelling at _me_ so much."

"Honey, you deserve everything he throws at you."

"He threw a whiskey bottle at me once."

"Did he hit you?"

"No, he missed."

"Damn it. I would have thought –"

 _"Goddamn it, man, I'm a doctor not an engineer!"_

Jim winced. "And there's my cue."

"Is that Dr. McCoy?" asked Victoria amusedly.

"Yeah, and he's pissed," Jim sighed, grabbed on a random pole hanging from the ship – clearly, the repairs were going to take a while – and swung himself up into the open shaft from where Victoria could hear voices. "Bones?" Jim called out. In response, there was a loud clang, and Victoria winced. The next moment she heard someone shouting, and a balding man with a red face and grease-stains on his shirt dropped to the ground at Victoria's feet, groaning and rubbing his arm. The sleeve of his shirt was smoking.

"Are you alright?" asked Victoria worriedly. She knelt down by his side, gingerly checking him for bruises, but he waved her off, rubbing his head and sitting up with a wince. She recognized him immediately from the wedding. "Mr. Scott?"

"Aye, who're you?" he squinted up at her, his thick Scottish accent confusing her for a moment.

"Victoria More," she introduced herself quickly. "I'm Sulu's –"

But Scotty was already waving her off. "Yes, yes, I remember ye, Dr. More. Best meatpies I've ever had in me life," Victoria laughed. "How're you doin', lassie?"

"Better than you, clearly," Victoria held out a hand and helped him to his feet. "Everything alright?"

"Fine, fine," he waved away her concern. "McCoy isn't the best assistant."

"That's because my training involves fixing _people_ , not scraps of junk!"

Victoria let out a soft laugh as Leonard McCoy jumped down from the same opening the engineer had fallen from, though his landing was much more graceful. He threw the Scotsman a dirty look. "And who the hell told you it would be a good idea to throw a _wrench_ at me?"

"Hello, Doctor," interrupted Victoria smoothly. She slid in front of Scotty, giving him a conspiratorial smile when he looked relieved at her intervention. McCoy looked taken aback by her presence; he clearly had not heard her before. Victoria kept smiling and held out a hand. "Nice to see you again."

"Yeah, you too, Doc," replied McCoy, grasping her hand and offering her a small smile. The abbreviation threw Victoria off for a moment, giving McCoy enough time to step around her, though his light, almost friendly touch on her arm as he made his way towards Scotty told her that he was not trying to be rude. "I'm not gonna hit you, Scotty!" he snapped as the engineer attempted to cringe away. "You've burned your damn arm, let me take a look."

"I _haven't_ , McCoy, for Christ's sake I've had worse!"

"Everything alright?" Kirk's head poked down from the hatch, and he raised an eyebrow at McCoy and Scotty's bickering, and Victoria's slightly confused stance next to them. "Bones, leave the man alone!" swinging down, he grabbed Victoria's hand and stepped between his other two friends, effectively ending their argument. "Let's go. We're having dinner at Sulu's, remember?"

"Dinner?" Victoria could have sworn Scotty's ears perked up. "We are?"

Jim ran a hand through his hair exasperatedly. "Sulu told us about it the day we docked, Scotty."

"Yeah, I bet he was too busy trying to get access to the base's technical files to listen," snorted McCoy, though there was no bite in his voice.

Scotty looked surprised. "How'd you know about that?"

"If you want access, Mr. Scott, I could help you," piped up Victoria. The three men jumped, as if they had forgotten she was there. She quirked an eyebrow at their confused looks. "I work here, remember?"

"You do?" asked McCoy in surprise, at the same time as Scotty began to demand to know what kind of access she meant.

"I handle shipments and restocks for science departments on docked ships," Victoria answered McCoy first, before turning to Scotty and offering him her PADD. "You're welcome to look through whatever I have access to, Mr. Scott. Off the record, of course. I don't know if it'll be interesting from an engineer's perspective."

"Yorktown is an engineer's dream," said Scotty, accepting the PADD eagerly. His fingers danced across the screen. "The info ain't goin' nowhere except my head, lassie, don' you worry 'bout that."

"Like a kid with candy," muttered Jim. Scotty's attention was too focused on the device in his hands to steer through the crowds on his own; Jim placed a hand on his shoulder and guided him towards the exit, leaving Victoria to walk with McCoy a few steps behind them.

They exchanged looks of bemusement, and it was suddenly as if they were at Hikaru's wedding all over again. Victoria smiled. "How have you been, Dr. McCoy?"

"Peachy," said McCoy sarcastically. He gave her a wary glance as soon as he spoke, as if he expected her to be offended by his tone. Victoria merely smiled. He shrugged. "Still alive so I guess that's worth something. And yourself?"

"Peachy," said Victoria teasingly. McCoy grunted out a laugh, sidestepping a group of technicians arguing loudly in jargon that went over Victoria's head completely. She was pleasantly surprised when she felt his hand touch her lower back, steering her away from the rowdy men and placing himself between them and her. _How very old-fashioned,_ she thought in amusement.

"Alright, I set myself up for that," said McCoy, a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. "Any reason you opted out of working on a starship for becoming an administrator?" again, he watched her warily. Did people often take offense at what he said? Victoria wondered at his careful tone.

She shrugged, not perturbed in the slightest. "Yorktown is quiet."

McCoy waited for a moment, then snorted when he realized that was her only justification. "Darlin', if _quiet_ is what you're going for, then inviting the crew back to your house is a big mistake."

She turned pink at the endearment – her last interaction with the man over three years ago had informed her of his penchant for using the word, but she had almost forgotten about it. Victoria flicked a loose strand of her out of her eyes and shrugged, hoping he hadn't noticed her blush. "I'm sure Mr. Spock will be more than willing to keep them in line," she said diplomatically. "Besides, I haven't seen adults that I'm not related to or working with in some way in a very long time."

"Yeah?" McCoy seemed amused. "You still on baby duty? The kid's almost eight now."

Victoria was impressed he remembered. "The same age your daughter was when I met her, I believe," her eyes twinkled, and she was pleased to see the slight frown lines that lingered across McCoy's forehead vanish at the mention of Joanna. "How is she?"

"She's good. Boarding school in Cerberus," McCoy smiled fondly, but his expression was slightly forced.

Victoria raised her eyebrows. "Is it a punishment?"

McCoy winced. "No, but she doesn't like it there."

 _Then why send her?_ "I went to boarding-school too, it can be hard," Victoria said sympathetically. "Does she spend the holidays at home?"

"She wants to. Her mom isn't the best at figuring out what –" he cut himself off, face turning slightly red from embarrassment. "Sorry, I'm just ramblin' now."

"That's quite alright," though she had no idea why he was apologizing, to ease some of his awkwardness Victoria looked ahead. She kept her eyes fixed on Jim's blonde head as he, strangely enough, seemed to be going in the same direction she had parked her car in. It seemed like she would be driving them home. "I actually enjoyed my own time away, though. In my experience, it helps to leave a problematic parent behind," she gave him a small smile. "And I don't think you're the problem, Doctor."

McCoy held her gaze for a moment. "Leonard," he said finally. Victoria quirked an eyebrow. He raised one of his own. "It's my name. You've been calling me doctor since we met."

"That was over three years ago," reminded Victoria.

"Three years is enough time to switch to first names," snorted McCoy. "Jim gave me a nickname a day after meeting me."

Victoria laughed. "Leonard," she agreed. Did she imagine the way his lips twitched when she said his name? Probably. "I suppose it's only fair you get to call me Victoria now."

McCoy shrugged. "Oh, I ain't the kind of man who asks that sort of thing."

Oh, so he _did_ have a sense of humour. "I didn't think you were," she laughed, and nudged his arm with the corner of her elbow – she barely reached his shoulder, even in her workwear high heels. "I'm only joking. Please, do call me Victoria."

"Not Tori?"

It took her a moment to realize he was still teasing her. He was looking straight ahead, and she realized that was probably a good thing, since he was practically leading them now; she had lost sight of Jim ages ago. Victoria almost clapped her hands in delight, but refrained from embarrassing him with her enthusiasm.

However, she could not resist the urge to tease right back. "I don't like you _quite_ that much yet, Leonard."

"You wait until the night is over, darlin'," his lazy drawl combined with the Southern accent caused her to giggle like a teenager. "After a few hours of Jim, I might be the _only_ one you still like."

Victoria did not argue with him.


	5. Chapter 5

**Four**

"Do you ever stop moving?"

"Nope," Victoria pushed past Jim, dirty dishes in hand, and ignored him as she dumped them in the sink and picked up a fresh pile. Jim blocked her route, folding his arms across his chest. Victoria didn't even blink. "Out of the way, kid."

"You're going to combust," Jim sighed, taking the stack of plates from her hands and gesturing for her to lead the way.

Victoria rolled her eyes, but didn't fight him. They exited the living-room by the glass doors back onto the porch, where people were milling about casually. "You sound like Katie."

"Katie?"

"My friend. Never mind," Victoria grimaced. "If you did remember her name, I'd be afraid."

"I'm not that bad!"

"You're a pig," Victoria pointed to where he should put down the plates, and kissed his cheek when he did. "But you're still my favourite."

"Really?" Jim grabbed her in a bear hug, ignoring her shriek of laughter. "Because I think you have a _new_ favourite."

"I do?" asked Victoria in amusement.

Jim nodded, looking for a moment exactly like the three year old who had captured her heart when he had wandered into her yard and declared he was running away from home. Teasingly, he tugged on a lock of her hair. "I saw you getting cosy with Bones, Tori."

Victoria huffed and pushed him away, giving him a stern look. _"Jim."_

 _"Tori,"_ Jim mimicked her stance, even raising his voice to try and match her pitch.

Victoria aimed a punch at his arm, which he dodged. "He is your best friend!"

"So?" Jim shrugged, automatically grabbing her fist before she could hit him again. "You tried to set me up with Katie," he pointed out.

"I did not," protested Victoria. "I said if you didn't want to call her, she wouldn't call you. There's a difference."

"Okay, so you tried to set me up for a one-night stand with Katie," Jim waved a hand dismissively. "You want that with Bones? I can –"

"Stop it!" hissed Victoria, her eyes widening in panic when she saw that Jim was about to call him over. "James Tiberius Kirk, I swear to God I will –"

"What is it, Jim?" beer in hand and an almost bored look on his face, Leonard McCoy seemed to materialise out of nowhere every time Jim called him over, despite the sour expression. Inwardly, Victoria wondered why he didn't just _stay away_ , even as she attempted to give him a smile. He responded with a wink. _Swoon._

"Hey, can you take him away?" Victoria spoke quickly before Jim could say something stupid. "He's being annoying."

McCoy rolled his eyes and grasped Jim's shoulder. "How many times have I told you to leave the lady alone, Jim?"

Undaunted, Jim threw Victoria a cheeky smile before nudging McCoy pointedly. "Too many times."

"Try and listen then," muttered Victoria.

Jim chuckled. "I feel like you guys are my parents already."

Victoria wanted the ground to swallow her whole. Since when did she allow Jim to treat her like a teenager with a crush? Trying to ignore his obvious remarks, she turned away and busied herself with setting out the plates she had brought out. However, McCoy's answer to Jim made her giggle. "Don't know why you feel that way. I always said your mama was a saint for puttin' up with you."

"My mom didn't put up with me, Tori did," snorted Jim. Victoria was sure McCoy heard the slight bitterness in his tone when he spoke of his mother, but it was gone as soon as it seeped in.

"Then we'll call her the saint," said McCoy easily. Out of the corner of her eye, Victoria saw him take a few paces back, as if to pull Jim away. She smiled.

"Ah, but Tori is no saint, Bones!" Victoria's eyes widened. _The cheeky bastard!_ "Did I ever tell you…" Jim's voice carried across the garden as they walked off, and Victoria groaned quietly before slipping back inside the house, shutting the glass door behind her firmly. Mentally plotting the various ways she could permanently silence Jim Kirk without actually killing him, she began to clean up the sitting-room.

Fifteen minutes later, she sighed. Maybe she _was_ overdoing it, she thought tiredly as she tossed another empty can into the bin. Hikaru had certainly made it clear there was no reason for her and Ben to invite his entire crew to their house and host them for an evening, but Victoria had insisted. Not only did she feel the need to show that it was Hikaru's house as much as anyone else's, she had missed Jim Kirk terribly. Having practically raised the idiot, his achievements over the years had made her proud, and she was more than a little smug about how he still seemed to worship her. It had been adorable when he had been a child, but now that he was a grown man it was positively gratifying.

Yes, Victoria liked having Jim back in her life, but she would be lying to herself if she said she didn't want to see Leonard McCoy again. It had been years since their first meeting, of course, and she doubted he remembered very much of her, but their conversation earlier that day as they had walked to her car had made her smile, and Victoria hadn't smiled in a very long time. There was no chance of anything happening, despite what Katie had said at the wedding three years ago and what Jim was trying to do now. Even she knew McCoy was married to his work and got into life-threatening situations on a daily basis despite his complaints, and she was too busy to even contemplate starting something she couldn't see through to the end. If she had listened to Spock and Jim and taken that position on the _Enterprise,_ however…

No. That was ridiculous. If she _had_ allowed Jim to get her onto his ship, she'd have been dead already, not to mention the fact that leaving Ben and Demora would just be a very bad idea for all sorts of reasons she couldn't bring herself to think about at that moment. Victoria rolled her eyes, firmly pushed all thoughts of romance out of her mind, and made quick work of the living-room. She put the bin to one side, knowing that Ben would take it out later, and made her way back outside. She hovered at the very edge of the threshold, fingers wrapped around the door to hold it open as she discreetly watched McCoy and Scotty chat quietly, slightly away from the rest of the group. McCoy was scowling. She rarely saw him smile, but he had smiled at her just that morning and –

Suddenly, the door she was holding began to move and was slammed shut forcefully, making her shriek as her fingers got caught between the wall and the door. "Tori? Shit, what is it?" Jim slid open the door immediately, a look of panic on his face at her scream.

Victoria cradled her left hand to her chest gingerly. "I'm going to kill you, Kirk."

Jim's eyes nearly bugged out of his head. "Was that your _hand?"_

 _"Yes,"_ she hissed. "What the hell made you close the door like that?"

"You kept yelling at me to keep it closed today!" protested Jim. Victoria's fingers had already swelled up, and she was wincing as she attempted to move them. Jim ran a hand through his hair. "I'm going to – damn, what the hell, Tori – _Bones!_ "

Victoria cursed as the blonde man ran out of the house, closing the doors loudly behind himself again. He would break them if he wasn't careful. If he hadn't broken her hand already, she'd have to punch him later. Glancing down, she hesitantly tried to flex her fingers, only to gasp quietly at the stab of pain that ran down her arm at the effort. She doubted anything was broken, but her little finger was at a slightly odd angle. It made her feel faintly ill.

"What the hell happened to you?" McCoy's shocked voice made her look up, and she groaned when she realized Jim had succeeded in sending the doctor to her.

Jim was peering at her suspiciously from over McCoy's shoulder, and Victoria rolled her eyes. "Do I look like I need a doctor, kid?"

"Yes," he said stupidly. When McCoy turned away from Jim with an annoyed huff to take a look at her hand, the dumb expression shifted and the blonde captain gave her a very obvious wink.

Victoria narrowed her eyes. "Why you little –"

"I'll punch him for you later," assured McCoy. He gave Jim a glare, and the younger man obediently left the room, his movements almost meek. The doctor turned back to Victoria, raising a questioning brow. "What'd he do?"

She tried to wave him off, conscious of why Jim had sent him in. "It's nothing, caught my hand in the door."

"It looks like mincemeat," McCoy ignored her protests and took her hand between his own, his movements so careful that Victoria was thrown off for a moment. How could a man with a permanent frown on his face, who was constantly in a bad mood, be so gentle? She had no answers. McCoy was speaking again. "First aid kit?"

"Kitchen," said Victoria dumbly.

McCoy snorted and looked up from her hand, his eyes drawing her in hopelessly. They were the colour of melted chocolate. Oh, she was a goner now. "You're goin' to have to tell me _where_ in the kitchen, darlin'."

"Right. Sorry. Under the sink."

"On it. You sit tight," Victoria had barely blinked before she realized he had guided her to the sofa and sat her down. Another blink and he was back, the ghost of a smile on his face. Victoria raised a questioning eyebrow. He smiled widely. "Haven't seen a kit this old-fashioned in a long time."

"Oh," she blinked. "Yeah, I grew up with these around. I don't know how to use the new ones."

"You should keep 'em just in case. You've got a kid in the house, and no hospital for miles," pointed out McCoy. Victoria looked sheepish.

Despite his comment, McCoy clearly had no problem using the outdated material. He took things out with a practiced ease that made Victoria wonder just where he had seen the kit in the first place. It didn't take him long to determine that three of her fingers and her thumb were fine, only bruised. Her little finger, however, was definitely broken.

Victoria sighed. "How bad is it?"

"I can fix it but it's going to hurt," warned McCoy. Victoria bit her lip. He gave her a sympathetic look. "You want me to call Jim in?"

"Why, so I can punch him?"

He chuckled. "I was gonna say for moral support."

She shook her head. "I can handle it."

McCoy didn't look like he believed her. "Here," to her surprise, he held out his left hand. She glanced at him curiously, but his eyes were merely watching her kindly. Deciding not to push her luck, Victoria took it. His hand was much larger than hers, but warm and comforting. He squeezed. "Just hold on, okay?"

Victoria nodded dumbly, too lost in his eyes to notice that he was smiling a little. She blinked, and felt a sharp pain go through her hand, before it went down to a dull ache. He had set her finger without telling her.

"That's got to be the oldest trick in the medicine handbook," said Victoria. She cleared her throat, slightly embarrassed that her voice was hoarse.

McCoy chuckled. "My favourite trick."

Apparently, he carried his own medical bag everywhere, but had been unwilling to fetch it from the car in case her hand needed immediate attention. He did bring it in, however, offering her a hypospray that reduced the pain in her hand and another that would ensure the bone would heal overnight. He bandaged her finger efficiently after that, and added an extra layer to the rest of her hand so she could avoid bumping the tender fingers. Victoria tried to flex when he was done, noting that the bandage would still allow her to use her hand partially. "Can I go punch Jim now?" she asked.

McCoy laughed. "Don't punch him on my account, I'd rather spend my time patching you up than listening to him and Spock argue."

Victoria smiled. "Here's hoping I don't make this a habit."

McCoy inclined his head. "Since I spend half my time in space, you probably shouldn't."

Victoria wrinkled her nose in distaste. "I still don't know how you do it."

"A lot of alcohol, and a lot of poker, darlin'."

"Two of my favourite things."

"Really?" his eyes twinkled. "Think you can play one-handed?"

Victoria smirked. "You're on."


	6. Chapter 6

**Five**

McCoy shut the door behind himself quietly, hoping that the alcohol would keep Jim knocked out despite the noise. Clutching his phone in one hand and running a hand through his hair with the other, he shuffled out of the small hallway towards the living-room. It was dark, but he was unwilling to be overheard. He made for the French doors, exiting onto the patio and finally taking the phone-call off mute.

"What is it, Pam?" his voice was gruff, from lack of sleep and the fact that it was his ex-wife he was talking to. There was no love lost between them.

Clearly, Pamela felt the same way. _"Don't think this is a social call,"_ she replied coldly.

"Wouldn't dream of it," said McCoy dryly. "What do you need?"

 _"Your checks aren't coming in."_

He resisted the urge to swear. "Did you call the lawyer?"

 _"I would, if I knew which one to call."_

"The same one as before, Pam," he was trying to be patient. "If they're not comin' in, it's his fault. I'm getting' paid enough, you know that."

 _"Yeah, and if I had known you were going to end up a CMO on a starship, Leonard, I would have asked for more."_

McCoy snorted. "Don't act like you didn't take all I had before, Pam."

She scoffed. _"As if you even had that much."_

"Yeah, well, I made up for it when I said I'd foot the bill for Joanna's new school, didn't I?"

 _"If you think that's all it takes to raise a child you're even more –"_

"We're not doing this right now, Pam," interrupted McCoy. He ran a hand through his hair in frustration. "Jesus, woman, its four in the morning. You couldn't call at a decent time?"

 _"Why, you got someone you want to get back to?"_

McCoy really hoped he was imagining the jealousy in her voice. "For Christ's sake, Pam –"

 _"Not that I care,"_ she sniffed dismissively.

"Don't ask stupid questions then!" snapped McCoy. "I'll call the lawyer myself tomorrow. Is there anything else?"

 _"No."_

"Great." He hung up without waiting for a response.

McCoy took a deep breath and kept his gaze fixed on the horizon, willing himself to calm down. There had never been any point in getting upset or annoyed about what Pamela said, and he had stopped trying to be nice to her a long time ago. Civil was the most anyone could expect from him on a good day, though it had been a while since she had called him directly. Usually, she preferred to let her lawyer do most of the talking. She must have been desperate to pick up the phone herself. The thought made McCoy snort. Considering the kind of money he was sending her every month, he doubted she was _that_ desperate. Unwilling to waste time thinking about his ex-wife, he focused on his surroundings.

Sulu's house was in the fancier part of the locality of the base, where the odd admiral or high-profile scientist resided. Jim had told him it was Victoria's doing – Ben hadn't been able to afford anything more than a nicer-than-normal apartment when he had been sent to Yorktown, but she had forked out cash for the house with a garden, and the two hovercars parked outside. No wonder Ben hadn't argued when she had insisted they all stay the night, though he suspected the offer was mostly because the majority of them were too drunk to drive and there was just one car.

The garden was hers too; he was sure he had spotted some of those colour-changing flowers that Spock had been so fascinated by near the front, and as far as he could tell she did most of the housework as well. The dynamic was odd, to say the least, but it wasn't something McCoy couldn't understand. Family was family, and not every woman was Pamela.

"Hey," if he had thought he sounded sleepy, this new voice definitely gave him a run for his money. He turned around to see Victoria leaning against the open door, her dark red hair in a messy braid as she squinted at him through half-closed lids. "What on earth are you doing awake?"

"Nothing good," he replied. His tone was acerbic, but it made her smile. As she yawned and rubbed her eyes tiredly, McCoy allowed himself the rare pleasure of looking her over, once he was sure she wouldn't notice.

How the hell could she make sleep deprivation look so good? She was still in her pyjamas but she looked as though she belonged on a magazine cover; her robe was short, and though it was pulled tightly around her body it didn't hide those legs that he'd only caught a glimpse of at Sulu's wedding. Jim had been right, they _did_ go on forever. And her hair made him want to run his fingers through it to see if it was really as silky as it looked. When had his brain been replaced with a sixteen year old's anyway? Forcing himself to stop gawking at her, McCoy pretended he hadn't been staring and raised his eyebrows. "What about you, darlin'? Sun isn't even out yet."

"I always wake up at this time," she stifled a yawn again and beckoned to him to follow her inside, which he did without thinking. "Ben's shift starts at six and Demora wakes up at seven," they entered the kitchen, where he was surprised to see an old-fashioned coffee-maker busy at work. Victoria saw him glance at it curiously and grinned. "I hope you're not judging me."

"Wouldn't dream of it," he said honestly. She quirked up an eyebrow. "I hate replicator coffee," he explained.

Victoria looked triumphant. "That's what I said to Ben! But he says I'm just wasting time with this old thing."

"There's nothin' like it."

Victoria smiled and lifted herself up onto the island, tucking her hair behind her ears. "Glad you approve. I'd offer you some, but you're not going to get any sleep after this if you indulge."

"Don't think I'll get much sleep with Jim snoring that loudly anyway," McCoy sat down on the seat next to her, acutely aware of her bare legs just inches from his shoulder. Fortunately, Victoria turned slightly so she was facing him, managing to angle her lower body away in the process. McCoy sighed internally with relief. Or maybe disappointment. He still wasn't sure. He changed the subject. "Your hand okay?"

"Tender," she winced as she opened a cupboard with her uninjured hand. "But I'll be okay," Victoria grabbed two mugs, and before he knew it she had slid a mug over to him, the pleasant aroma of fresh coffee filling up the kitchen when she took the lid off the pot. "There's sugar next to you, if you want some."

McCoy shook his head, carefully sipping the scalding liquid and smiling at the taste. His mother brewed coffee from scratch, but he hadn't had any in a long time and this was the next best thing. Victoria noticed his look and laughed softly, putting her own mug to the side to cool down. Again, seemingly out of nowhere, she pushed something else towards him. It was a large plate, piled high with what looked like chocolate brownies.

"You made these?" asked McCoy in surprise.

Victoria picked up a bite-sized square and popped it into her mouth, shrugging. "I'm a domestic goddess."

McCoy followed suit, forcing himself to keep a straight face even though he wanted to moan at how amazing the taste was. He settled for another compliment instead. "After the dinner you put together last night, darlin', I don't doubt it."

Victoria smiled again. "Who do you think is responsible for Jim's appetite? Uncle Rupert sure as hell didn't make him roast chicken and beef stew every week."

McCoy raised his mug in acknowledgement. "Should've known."

They sat in silence for a moment, but Victoria's fingers tapping against the ceramic mug told him she had something to say.

"Your good mood from last night doesn't seem to have lasted," she said finally. McCoy shrugged, unwilling to go into specifics. He was aware that he was being even more silent than usual, but Pam had annoyed him and he was unwilling to let out any of his frustrations on Victoria. Oblivious to his inner struggle, Victoria picked up another brownie, taking her time to chew it before raising her eyebrows at him. "Let me guess. Bad night?"

McCoy shrugged. "It was fine. Jim snores."

"But you were roommates in the Academy for a while, so clearly that isn't something new," Victoria dismissed his words with a wave of her free hand. McCoy frowned. Was she trying to _analyse_ him? "Hmm… did Scotty try to throw something at you again?"

"Thank lord, no," muttered McCoy. "Damn engineer, got the arm of a baseball player."

Victoria smiled. "Sore about losing at poker?"

He snorted at that. "Only _once,_ darlin'."

"Once is all it takes," she winked. Why was he constantly imagining things that weren't there? McCoy was sure he had made-up the flirtatious tone of her voice.

"You lost three times," he pointed out.

"And you let me keep my money, like a good old-fashioned southern gentleman straight out of a storybook," mused Victoria. Her words didn't sound mocking at all, which made McCoy smirk because _now_ he was sure he hadn't imagined the tone, nor the way she had blushed when he had insisted last night that he wouldn't take a penny from her.

"Your smile is enough of a reward, darlin'," he drawled, inching just a little bit closer to her.

To his surprise, Victoria snorted. But her cheeks were now pink. _"Smooth._ Jim teach you that one?"

McCoy raised his eyebrows. "He's tried it on you?"

"Who do you think taught _him?"_

Of course she had. McCoy grinned. "I _really_ should'a known that one."

"Ah, and we get a smile," Victoria looked smug. "So, it really wasn't poker?"

He shook his head. "I ain't a sore loser."

Victoria hummed. "Well, secret phone calls at four in the morning do have a tendency to ruin a person's mood, I suppose."

McCoy winced, and Victoria smiled triumphantly, but something in her tone made McCoy want to clarify who he had been talking to. "Especially when they're from your ex-wife," he said nonchalantly.

Victoria grimaced, immediately looking chagrined. "Sorry, I didn't mean to pry."

"You're not," McCoy waved away her concern. "There isn't much to pry into. She left me years ago, and I'm glad she did. But she wants things done her way, and that ain't always possible."

Victoria looked torn, but he smiled at her and she ventured to ask, "So, you don't get along, then?"

"The split wasn't amicable, though it was my fault as much as hers, I've never denied that," shrugged McCoy. "We were young and we thought we knew what love was. I don't regret it though, Joanna's worth all the heartache I went through."

Victoria smiled. "She's a good kid."

"The best," McCoy smiled fondly, even as he felt his chest constrict. "Pam doesn't let me see her as much as either of us would like. She got full custody by claiming I was an unfit parent – and at the thought of losing 'em both, I guess I did become one."

"You're human," Victoria shrugged, and the way she seemed able to dismiss his failings warmed his heart, even though he knew she was being kinder than he deserved. "We all make mistakes. The wonderful part about being human is the ability to change."

"I don't think Pam believes in words like "wonderful" and "change"."

Victoria wrinkled her nose in distaste. "She doesn't sound like I'd get along with her, then. I'm glad Joanna took after you."

McCoy laughed. "You'd be the first to say that."

"Well, then, they clearly don't know you very well."

"And you do?" he asked in amusement.

"You don't need to know much about a man beyond his taste in books, how he takes his coffee, and whether or not he thinks Jim Kirk is annoying," Victoria told him, her face serious. But her eyes were twinkling. "I think we've got the basics covered, don't you?"

"My taste in books?" McCoy frowned, thinking back over their conversations. "When did we talk about books?"

"We didn't. When I first met her, Joanna mentioned that you had medical texts lying about your house," Victoria smiled, looking slightly embarrassed. "Have you seen our coffee table?"

He recalled the exobiology books that Joanna had been given by Victoria all those years ago, and the cluttered coffee table he had sat by last night. It had, indeed, been piled high with advanced texts that had captured Spock's interest immediately. McCoy smiled. "You've got a point there."

"I make it a habit to have a point," Victoria grinned back, and nudged the plate towards him again. "Eat up, doctor. We need you at full strength if you're going to survive Jim Kirk's captaincy."

McCoy rolled his eyes, but didn't protest and helped himself to another brownie. "He's gonna get us killed one day."

"I believe you," Victoria hopped off the counter and began to bustle about the kitchen, pulling containers from the fridge and cupboard. She was making lunch, McCoy realized, and he was sure it wasn't all for her; considering the two glass bottles of hooch she'd taken out, he sincerely _hoped_ it wasn't. "I love him, I really do," she continued, as if cooking at four thirty in the morning was the most normal thing in the world. "He's the first kid I was ever really attached to, though that really doesn't say a lot about me," she turned to look at him over her shoulder, wrinkling her nose in distaste. McCoy was beginning to recognize that expression. "My dad always said he would be trouble when he grew up."

"Was he a bad kid?"

Victoria shook her head. "He really wasn't, despite what people say. Despite what _he_ says," she rolled her eyes. "He was just rebellious. The best way to make him clean his room was to tell him it's something he shouldn't do, you know? Just a typical kid. I knew how to handle him," she turned back to grab the salt-shaker from next to McCoy and grinned. "And from what he's told me, you know how to handle him too."

"I treat him like how I'd treat Joanna," said McCoy, smiling wryly. "It usually works out pretty well."

"I hope you wouldn't sedate your daughter on a regular basis though."

"Like to think I wouldn't. And what exactly are you doin'?" he asked curiously. She hadn't paused since she'd handed him his coffee.

"Making lunch for Ben and Demora," Victoria shrugged and began to butter a slice of bread.

"Demora's a little young to be drinking."

"Wha – oh!" Victoria laughed and put down the sandwich, instead indicating the bottles. "You mean these?"

"That alcohol ain't for her, is it?"

"This isn't just any old alcohol, doctor," said Victoria, shaking her head smilingly. "This is the _king_ of alcohol. And it isn't for Demora, it's for your dare-devil of a captain."

McCoy looked sceptical. "What'd he ask you to get him?"

Victoria laughed again and unscrewed the cap off one of the bottles, beckoning McCoy over and offering it to him. "Not too much," she warned, when he accepted. "It's strong."

McCoy rolled his eyes and took a swig, the burn immediately making his eyes water, but he managed to resist the urge to cough. He handed the bottle back to her immediately, though, only a little surprised when she giggled at his expression and took a much larger sip herself, shuddering at the taste. He shook his head. "Strong is an understatement."

"I'll take that as a compliment," she put the cap back on and set it down on the table. "I made it myself. It's my dad's recipe, and it's also the first thing Jim got drunk off," she rolled her eyes. "Thank God I wasn't his babysitter then."

"You _made_ it?"

"Yup," Victoria shrugged, and then smirked wickedly as she unscrewed the cap again, adding a generous splash to her coffee. She laughed at McCoy's expression. "Don't tell me you've never had a drink before the sun's come up, doctor," she teased. "Living with Jim Kirk ought to have made you an alcoholic by now."

McCoy rolled his eyes. "If I got drunk, who'd keep him alive?" despite Victoria's laugh and his own gruff tone, he didn't object when she added some to his mug of coffee too.

The talked on and off after that, but mostly sat in silence, until the fake sunrise signalled the beginning of everyone else's working-day. Ben was the first one to rush in, not even looking surprised to see his sister awake and holding out a to-go cup of coffee – sans the alcohol – and Tupperware filled with food for him. He kissed her cheek, accepted the two containers, and ran out the door after throwing out a hurried goodbye to McCoy. Without missing a beat, Victoria pulled out milk, cereal, a bowl and cutlery from various places around the kitchen, setting them down on the table just as Demora rushed in, her hair strewn about her shoulders. She sat down wordlessly, diligently eating breakfast as Victoria braided her hair, still chatting to McCoy about something or the other that he really wasn't paying attention to – the morning routine had him utterly bemused. As soon as Demora's bowl was empty, a bright pink backpack was plonked down onto her lap, and Victoria set down a matching water-bottle, another plastic container and a single banana on the table, that Demora carefully packed into her bag. Thirty seconds later, there was the sound of a hovercar pulling up, and Victoria kissed the little girl's forehead as she ran out to catch the bus to school.

"Now I see why you need hooch in the morning," said McCoy finally. Victoria laughed.


	7. Chapter 7

**Six**

"You'll call me, right?"

"Honey, you were the one who didn't pick up the last two times I called," Victoria rolled her eyes and gave Jim another hug. "You're acting like I'll never see you again. We're the closest base and you get into more trouble than anyone I've ever known. You'll be back in a month."

"Don't jinx us, Tori," Jim pouted and kissed her forehead, drawing back to give her a serious look. Victoria huffed again, but stayed in one place; the bustle of people around her prevented her from moving anyway. "You'll think about it, right? Job's always yours."

"When I want a demotion, Jim, you'll be the first to know."

Jim groaned. "You're _wasted_ here. They can hire _anyone_ to make schedules and yell at ensigns."

"But they asked me," Victoria patted his arm. "Run along and explore the galaxy now, kid. I'll see you soon."

Jim gave her another look, but sauntered away anyway. Uhura passed by and called out a goodbye to Victoria, and she smiled back before returning to her PADD. She was just about to turn around and yell for an ensign when she felt as though she was being watched, and looked up.

Dr. McCoy was staring at her.

He wasn't exactly ogling her, of course; he was leaning against a beam talking to someone else from his ship, but his eyes were fixed on her and he seemed to be ignoring the other man completely. Victoria pushed away the slight flutter in her stomach and fixed another smile onto her face, raising a hand in a short wave when she caught his eye. He raised his own hand back, but didn't approach her. She couldn't decide if she was happy or sad about that.

Victoria forced herself to go back to work. She shouldn't be doing this. He was a good man, with a life and a family – even if it was a broken one – and the last thing he needed was someone like her with all her baggage to come tumbling into his arms. She didn't even know how long she'd be in Yorktown, or where she would go when she had to leave. Staying in touch with Jim was unavoidable, Victoria had always had a soft spot for him and now that she had seen him again she knew she wouldn't want to let go. But getting involved with Leonard McCoy would be a mistake.

Still, she allowed herself a small smile. Talking to him for two hours before the sun had even risen that morning had been the highlight of the entire time she had spent in Yorktown. He was kind, _very_ handsome and he knew absolutely nothing about her, which meant that if she flirted with him – not exactly on purpose, but not by accident either – he would get a particular gleam in his eye and say something in that ridiculously attractive accent of his and she would be forced to look away to stop giggling. It was refreshing, to be able to act like a single woman who didn't have something to hide. It was her own fault she couldn't be like that all the time, though: she could blame nobody except herself for her current situation.

"Jim's looking way too happy to be goin' back to space," muttered a voice from next to her. Victoria recognized it immediately. His southern drawl was unmistakable now. She glanced up and saw that Dr. McCoy was now standing next to her, a scowl on his face as he gazed at the ship ready to set out.

"You sure it's just space?" she asked casually, trying to pretend she hadn't just spent the past five minutes daydreaming about him.

He threw her an accusatory look. "You gave him the hooch, didn't you?"

Victoria pretended to read something on her PADD. "Did you tell me not to?" she asked, lips twitching with amusement.

McCoy groaned. "He's impossible enough when he _isn't_ trying to get me drunk."

"I did make him promise he wouldn't drink on his shift."

McCoy snorted. "And he'll listen?"

"He's a good kid," she nudged his arm softly. She would have preferred to touch his hand – it was soft and firm, and the callouses of his fingertips were comforting. "And he has you to keep him safe."

McCoy's expression softened, but not by much. "Guess so."

They stood together in silence. McCoy watched the ship; Victoria pretended to work but watched his face in the reflection of her screen instead. His mouth was set in a harsh line, and there was a scowl on his face that looked permanent. No wonder people thought he was a grouch.

"Bet you're glad you didn't take that job now," McCoy broke the silence. Victoria gave him a questioning look. He indicated her PADD. "You've been glaring at our medical supply list for the past five minutes."

"Oh," Victoria laughed, but internally she heaved a sigh of relief. She had not, in fact, realized what she had been looking at, too focused on _not_ focusing on the man standing next to her. "Yeah, the danger levels on your ship are a little high for me."

"No more than any other ship."

Victoria snorted. "Trust me, the _Enterprise_ is an entity unto herself. I wouldn't touch her with a ten foot pole."

"Scotty'll kill you if he hears that," chuckled McCoy. "Can't say I blame you, though I am surprised."

"I'm a scientist who spend her free time gardening," Victoria rolled her eyes. "And you're _surprised_ I don't like danger?"

"I don't know," when she glanced up at him, McCoy was looking at her as if he could see right through her. "You didn't strike me as the kind of girl who liked to be safe."

 _That's because I never did._ Victoria blinked and, to mask the look of terror that was sure to cross her face at his accurate guess, she raised an eyebrow. "And what's that supposed to mean?"

McCoy shrugged. Victoria was slightly pleased to note that he wasn't being too careful with his words, not anymore at least. "Well, Jim gets his recklessness from you, doesn't he?"

She didn't have to ask him what he meant after that. "Did he tell you I thought it would be a good idea for him to take the mustang on a joyride?" she demanded. McCoy's lips twitched. Victoria groaned. "I would _never_ tell an eleven year old that was a good idea!"

"You told him classic cars were fun to drive," said McCoy, smiling wider now.

"I was making conversation!" persisted Victoria. "If I had known he would test out my theory –"

"I'm only teasin' you, darlin'," interrupted McCoy, chuckling at her expression. "It doesn't take much for a crazy idea to take root in Jim's head, I know that."

Victoria huffed. "I'm just glad he didn't tell his mom it was my idea. She would have killed me."

"Probably," agreed McCoy. "He also told me you nearly punched his uncle in the face after that."

Victoria blushed. "He was always telling Winona what an awful kid Jim was," she said defensively. "And he _wasn't._ Rupert was an asshole to Jim, always had been. I knew if _he_ punched him he'd be proven right, so I just… tried to take the blame off him."

McCoy shook his head, a look of wonderment on his face. His expression confused Victoria, and so did his words. "You're somethin' else, you know that?"

Victoria shrugged. "I know I was a kid too at the time, but I'd been practically raising Jim since he was a toddler. Would you have done it differently?"

"Probably not," said McCoy. His eyes twinkled. "Though I'd take the mustang out myself instead of telling my kid it would be fun."

"Who says I never took it out myself?" challenged Victoria.

McCoy's eyes widened. "Did you –"

"Do you really want to hear the answer to that question?"

McCoy grimaced. "How is Iowa still standing after you two?"

"I wonder the same thing," Victoria smirked. "And don't get me wrong, I enjoy the odd explosion and race against time as much as the next girl," she glanced up at him. "I guess I just like feeling safe more."

"Yeah, well," McCoy shrugged, and Victoria was suddenly struck once more by how tired he looked. Compared to the doctor, Jim was a spring chicken, and he'd been looking _terrible_ since he'd come to Yorktown. Clearly, the stress of space was getting to them all. " _Trying_ to keep people safe is all we can do."

The morbid turn of conversation confused her. "I think trying is essential," said Victoria carefully. McCoy was looking straight ahead – she had no idea how to handle such a discussion with the man. Jim had always called him a grouch, but she had it on very good authority that only one thing made Dr. Leonard McCoy grumpy, and that was not being able to do his job. She scrambled for something to say. "Do you know why I picked the science division, instead of medicine, Doctor?" she blurted out.

That caught his attention. "I didn't know you had a choice."

"Well, I did," Victoria kept her eyes fixed on her PADD, sensing that McCoy found it easier to talk openly if he thought she wasn't examining his expressions. "My dad wanted me to be a doctor. My mom died when I was very young of a disease that they're still trying to understand, and I'm sure he wanted me to help cure it someday. But I couldn't do it."

"I'm sorry," his hand brushed her momentarily, the small action offering her more comfort than either of them expected. Victoria smiled a little, accepting his gesture, but his hand was gone too soon. "So, you didn't want to be a medic. Why's that?"

"Because I have an unnatural amount of respect for living things," said Victoria simply.

McCoy raised an eyebrow. "And doctors don't?"

"You misunderstand me. Doctors play god," she shifted her gaze back to her PADD. "I can't do that, not with another living, breathing thing, plant or animal or alien. Especially not human. And for a long time, I thought that was a strength. But I was wrong."

"You were?"

"Yeah, I was," she finally turned her gaze up to face him fully. "Because it takes an enormous amount of strength to make that call, to study for years and practice for even more, to lose patients in the name of learning and to put yourself in a position where you have the knowledge and the skills to determine how to save a life. I didn't have that strength, but you do. And I admire you for it."

McCoy sighed. "That's a pretty thought, darlin', but it's not how I see it."

"Because you are a good man. But you can't save everyone, Leonard."

"Still shouldn't have to make the choice," his retort was gruff.

"The strength to make the choice is what makes you a good doctor," she did touch his hand this time, trying desperately to ignore the sparkle of electricity that shot up her arm when she wrapped her fingers around his. McCoy glanced down at their joint hands in surprise, shifting his gaze back to her questioningly. He had offered her comfort willingly enough just then, but was the idea of receiving it really such a foreign concept to him? Victoria's heart ached at the thought. She tried to smile. "Don't worry too much, Doctor. You'll get wrinkles."

The joke was feeble, but McCoy's lips twitched anyway. "I'm too old to be worryin' about how I look anymore."

"And you calling yourself old is an insult to me. We're the same age, aren't we?"

McCoy raised his eyebrows. "You don't _look_ my age."

"You don't look sixty either, despite what you tell yourself," shot back Victoria. Trying to act casual, she let go of his hand. "Any idea where you're off to after digging into the ambassador's claims?"

McCoy shrugged. "Wherever Jim takes us," he said dryly.

Victoria laughed and then, on impulse, she opened up her PADD again. "Well, if you decide to come by again and Jim is still ignoring my calls," she pressed a button and a single slip of paper came out of the built-in printing system. She tore it off and held it out to McCoy. "Let me know?"

Victoria wondered if she was imaging the lighter expression of his face as he smiled at her offering. "Will do," he took the paper, pocketing it just as someone yelled out his name. "I'm comin'!" he yelled back, eyes still fixed on her. Victoria smiled. He grinned back, squeezed her hand one more time, and then he was gone.


	8. Chapter 8

**Seven**

 _"No way in hell am I letting her die, Dimitri!"_

 _"Jen, we can only do so much. She's lost too much blood."_

 _"Don't give me that shit, I saw Parker get wheeled out of sickbay two days ago looking good as new, and he was in way worse condition than Tori when he went in."_

 _"You don't know what you're talking about, Jen," hissed Dimitri, pushing her away from the door. "I'm going into surgery now, and I promise I'll do everything I can, but –"_

 _"I swear to any and every god there is, Dimitri, if you let Tori die I will end you," Jennifer's eyes glinted dangerously. "I know what's been going down on the science deck. They think I'm oblivious, which is why they gave me this ship, but I know the substance they've discovered can regrow something as complicated as the human heart, a few bones aren't a big deal. And I_ know _you have authorisation to use it."_

 _"The healing properties are a one-off thing!" persisted Dimitri. "In order to maintain the effects, you have to be careful. Even if she survives the transfusion, there's a big chance the injuries will just come back if she goes off it."_

 _"I don't care. Do it."_

 _"Jen, if they found out –"_

 _"Dr. Nikols?" Dr. Lionel Hofstader peeked outside the surgery room, a frown on his face. "We need to get started. Jen, are you coming in?"_

 _"No," Jen shook her head and backed away, keeping her eyes on Dimitri. "I have to get to the bridge. Dimitri, remember that you owe her, she's saved your ass more times than either of us can count."_

 _Lionel frowned. "The surgery is pushing it anyway, Jen. There isn't much we can do. Her entire right side is shattered, there's a lot of internal bleeding, and best-case scenario she'll have to lose a leg."_

 _"I know what you can and can't do," snapped Jen. "Make sure you do it."_

 _"If I do this," said Dimitri slowly. "She may hate us for it. She's going to have to live with it for the rest of her life, and she could end up as a lab rat for the higher-ups when we get back to Federation headquarters."_

 _"Think about what Tori would want, Jen," said Lionel gently. "You could get suspended. We all could. It's a complete breach of protocol."_

 _Jen's eyes were wet with tears when she glanced back into the surgery room. Her friend's red hair was the only thing she could see; every inch of skin was either covered in blood, or wires that were keeping her alive. "She did it to save me," she croaked out. "And now you're going to save her. That's an order, Dr. Nikols."_

 _Dimitri sighed. "Aye, captain."_

 _And then the monitors started beeping._

 _"We're losing her!" someone yelled._

 _"Dammit, Tori!"_

Victoria's eyes flew open, Dimitri's loud voice ringing in her ears. Her hand automatically going to her right hip. The jagged, puckered line from his scalpel was still there; she could feel it even through her cotton pyjamas. Some scars healed, but never fully. A memory from twelve years ago resurfacing as a dream was completely normal, and she could hear Lionel in her head now, reassuring her that she was fine. _"You've been through a major trauma, Tori,"_ he would say gently. _"People don't recover overnight. Just try and get some sleep. Doctor's orders."_

Sleep. Victoria snorted and threw the covers off her legs, sitting up in bed. Sleep had eluded her for years. If she wasn't dreaming about her accident twelve years ago in the Laurentian system, she was working. And if she wasn't working, she was answering passive-aggressive communications from her father, ensuring she was alive and hidden from prying eyes.

"Dammit," she muttered. Giving up on sleep, she picked up a PADD off her bedside table and flicked through recent messages. The usual two from her father were there, where they would stay unopened and unanswered until she felt like it. Demora's school had sent an alert about a PTA – she would have to remind Ben it was his turn to go. Sulu's weekly message was missing, he had probably sent Ben one instead of both of them, but she made a mental note to check anyway. Pointedly, there was nothing from Jim, which made her worry slightly.

There was also nothing from Dr. McCoy.

 _That_ was a can of worms she was definitely not going to open just yet. Shutting off her PADD, Victoria grabbed her robe from the hook it was hanging on next to her bed and made her way to the bathroom. A shower to cleanse her of the blood she could still feel sticking to her skin, and some breakfast to remind her that there was in fact nothing wrong with her right arm or leg would help. It wouldn't fix anything, but it would really, _really_ help.

 **!**

vVctoria knew something was wrong as soon as she got into work.

"Who the hell is in charge here?" she snapped. The ensign in front of her faltered, and she groaned with annoyance before whirling around, her high heels clacking against the linoleum floor as she stormed her way towards the tactical office inside the plaza.

The room was in chaos – she could see why the ensign had been unable to give her directions. Did _anyone_ know what they were doing? She doubted it. Pushing aside her blind panic at the knowledge of the crew of the _Enterprise_ 's current position – if she even thought about Jim Kirk being dead she would start crying – she focused on the task at hand. Grabbing a random headset, she punched in the correct code and found herself in communication with at least ten voices at once. She didn't bother to try and make herself heard, merely grabbed the closest chair and opened her PADD, trying to figure out what the hell had gone wrong in the last few days.

She had had a bad feeling about the ambassador's claims, but the orders came from higher up and she had been given no say in the matter. There hadn't been enough time to get someone from Earth involved, even though she had considered sending her father a sealed communication request so he could intervene. Small wonder she had packed the _Enterprise_ with more supplies than they needed, and ordered a revamp of their escape pods, despite the fact that it wasn't her department. She didn't care. Jim was as good as her own kid, and the thought of Demora being left with only one parent made her heart ache. Of course, McCoy's face flashed across her eyes more often than not. The mission was stupid and dangerous, and added to that something was definitely messing with the –

 _"Red Alert. All occupants to the sub-zero level for evacuation. All personnel to High Command. Red Alert. All occupants to the sub-zero level for evacuation. All personnel to High Command…"_

They were evacuating the Central Plaza. Victoria's hands froze. Central Plaza being evacuated meant that there was something _inside_ Yorktown, the quiet little bubble in the middle of deep space she had chosen specifically because it would keep her and her family safe.

But that was impossible. _Nothing_ got into Yorktown without them knowing about it. Even her, an average-rank science official on ground duty in charge of supplies would have known if something had gotten in.

"Ma'am?" a security officer was suddenly in front of her, pushing her towards the flow of people rushing downstairs. The tactical office was on the top floor. _Of course._ "You need to leave, ma'am."

"What's going on?" she heard herself ask. "Why do I need to get to High Command?" Her legs were shaking. The officer grasped her elbow to keep her steady, giving her a wary look.

"I have orders to get all personnel to High Command," was his only answer. He gave her another look. "Are you sure you're personnel?"

Victoria narrowed her eyes, annoyance seeping through her panic. "My name is Lieutenant Dr. Victoria More, ensign," she snapped, wrenching her arm out of his grip. "And if you want to keep your job I suggest –"

A loud crash cut her off. Eyes wide, she focused on a ship that was getting bigger by the second, making a beeline towards them. It was colliding helter-skelter with buildings on either side, and she realized that was because it was being _chased._ Brilliant. Some long-dormant senses of hers kicked in and she ditched the ensign standing next to her, rushing into the crowd heading towards the evacuation point. High Command could wait. She needed to get out of there.

 **!**

"I've got someone here!"

"Alive or dead?"

"Can't tell, sir."

"Well, pull 'em out anyway. We can get them identified with the next lot."

Victoria groaned quietly, fighting the urge to sit up. She was no doctor, but she'd been on enough away missions to know how to analyse her injuries. Her leg was broken, probably mangled considering she was lying flat on solid ground right now and her last memory was of running within range of a seventy-storey building when it crashed down. There was a large amount of plaster holding it down, which meant she couldn't move, and the dust in the air would ensure her throat was too dry to scream. She could try and crawl out, but with a small jolt of pain she realized there was some debris on her other side as well, pinning her down. Moving could be tricky, because she had no spatial awareness and so she couldn't calculate if any movement would cause more debris to fall and injure her other side as well. That would be inconvenient, considering her left hand had barely recovered from when Jim had –

 _Jim._

Victoria shot up, all logical thought flying from her brain. Had Jim been in the ship that crashed into the plaza? Was he _dead?_ The thought made her feel sick. Ignoring the stars in front of her eyes, Victoria tried to focus on her surroundings. The debris on her arm had fallen off harmlessly when she had sat up, but her leg was still stuck, and it _hurt._ With her bloody hand, she tried to push off the chunk of plaster, but was unsuccessful. That wasn't good.

Her ears were ringing with adrenaline, bright lights twinkled in front of her eyes, and she felt dizzy. Moving had been a very bad idea, because now she felt cold and her throat was closing up with fear. She could be stuck here for hours: the voices that had jolted her awake could have moved on by now, and she needed to know if Jim was alive, if _anyone_ was alive. Would they have evacuated Demora's school? Ben had been working when the red alert had sounded: where had he gone? She couldn't feel her PADD or communicator on her person, which meant she had no way of contacting anyone. Her hands started shaking.

"Breathe," she choked out. Her voice sounded hoarse and foreign, but she forced the words out of her mouth. "You need to breathe." She closed her eyes and dug the heels of her palms into her eyes to block out the shifting lights. "Just breathe," she told herself, her voice getting stronger. "Just breathe."

The ringing was less overwhelming now, but she could still hear her heart hammering loudly in her chest. Warily, she removed her hands from her face. The lighting had changed, and she looked up slowly. There was a man standing above her, and he gave her a look of utter shock when he saw she was conscious.

"Hi," he said, schooling his expression immediately. But his voice was high-pitched and he sounded utterly bewildered. "Err, are you –"

"Thank god," whispered Victoria. She was already pushing at the plaster. "Can you help –"

"Ma'am, you need to stay still," he was wearing a paramedic's uniform, she noticed now. And he looked like he was about to have a stroke. "You can't move, ma'am, you've probably broken –"

"It's alright," said Victoria. Her voice was still hoarse, and she wondered if he could understand her. She doubted it. Unable to explain in words, she gestured to her right arm, which was undamaged, and her left arm, which was bloody but still functioning. "Just my leg," she managed to choke out. Her throat was clogged with dust.

The paramedic's eyes lit up with understanding. "Can you feel anything?" he asked. Victoria winced and nodded slowly. Seeming satisfied, he murmured something into the communicator on his shoulder and knelt next to her. "We'll get some lifters to pick this up and get you checked out. I know it hurts but that probably means there's no nerve damage. What's your name?"

"Victoria," she said, her voice slightly clearer now. The paramedic nodded and took a tricorder out, scanning her quickly. Victoria sighed wearily, knowing what was coming next.

She had been to enough doctors and seen enough medical professionals examine her to know it was always the same story. She watched the paramedic's eyes go over the readings, his expression neutral until he got to the part that she knew would be about blood content and the physical condition of her leg. His eyes widened. "Hey, Victoria, can you tell me if any of this –"

"How long have I been here?" interrupted Victoria. She knew the drill. She wasn't supposed to talk about this if she wanted her father to clean up this mess.

The paramedic seemed concerned, but offered her a small smile. "We're guessing twelve hours. They just cleared medical to start digging around here, but if you're part of the group that went down when the ship crashed into the plaza just as evacuation was happening, I'd guess maybe a little longer."

Slowly, she shook her head. "I was running."

He nodded. "Then I'd say roughly eight hours."

"Do you know what happened?" she persisted. "How many people are hurt? Did they get further into the base? I saw a ship."

His expression became guarded. "You have family or friends in Yorktown with you?" he asked warily. Victoria nodded. He looked even more concerned now. "We're going to have to check on that when we get out of here. But the situation was handled. The _Enterprise_ came back."

"And they're alive?" she persisted.

The paramedic shook his head slowly. "They lost a lot of their crew. But their captain, Jim Kirk, he's fine. I think their CMO was even flying a ship at some point."

Victoria felt a weight lift from her mind immediately, and let out a breath she didn't even realize she had been holding. Jim was safe, and so was McCoy: she would just have to wait to see if Hikaru, Ben and Demora were alright as well. As if her body was sensing the dispelling of tension, Victoria felt her head begin to ache, along with a dull throbbing near the small of her back. But her leg was getting unbearable now – every breath she took made white hot pain shoot down from her lungs to the tips of her toes, though she supposed the fact that she could even feel her toes was not a bad thing.

If the paramedic noticed the change in her demeanour, he didn't comment on it. His comm chirped as he was adjusting his tricorder, and Victoria sighed with relief when she heard a voice say the lifter had arrived to remove the patient from where she was trapped.

"Less talking and more moving now," said the paramedic. He was scanning her vitals as he stood, and he looked worried again. "Hey, is that a prosthetic?"

Victoria managed a smirk even as the pain finally made her close her eyes and flop back down onto the ground. "Never said it was one," she muttered before she blacked out again.


	9. Chapter 9

**Eight**

"Captain Kirk?" Jim looked up from his drink and raised his eyebrows at the pretty ensign who was approaching. Only slightly reluctant, he turned away from the view of his ship and gave the woman his full attention. She smiled. "Ensign Janet Roberts. Very pleased to meet you."

"Pleasure is all mine," said Jim, shaking her outstretched hand. He raised an eyebrow at her slight blush, but refrained from commenting. "What can I help you with?"

"Admiral More is on hold for you in conference room four," replied Roberts. She indicated for him to follow. "I was instructed to fetch you. He says it is urgent."

"Admiral _Patrick_ More?" asked Jim incredulously. When Roberts nodded, he directed her to lead the way, a slight frown marring his features. Pat More was Victoria's father, and they'd been neighbours in Iowa for years, but he had only met him once since they'd moved away. Pat had been friends with Admiral Pike, and they'd exchanged a few words at the funeral. He was still in San Francisco, as far as Jim knew, and the last communication load from Earth had reached Yorktown that morning. Wondering what the admiral could want that warranted a private interview, Jim dismissed the ensign outside the door, thinking it would be best if he took the meeting alone.

Roberts did not seem confused in the slightest by his dismissal, and it made Jim wonder if that was what the admiral had instructed her to do anyway. Aware that he was in civilian clothes but knowing it couldn't be helped now, he pushed open the door and stepped inside. Immediately, his eyes widened. _"Tori?"_

"Hey, kid," said the woman sitting opposite the screen. Pat More's face was on it, more wrinkled than the last time Jim had seen him, but his green eyes were the same as his daughter's, and right now they were both watching him carefully.

Without a second thought, he crossed the room and enveloped her in a hug, his relief almost making him stammer. "Where the hell have you been?" he demanded, pulling back and almost shaking her in his disbelief. "Sulu said you were in the Plaza when it went down and no one's heard from you since. I've been trying to call you but I –" at Victoria's pointed look, he swallowed his questions and, reluctantly, turned to the man on the screen. "Admiral More, sir."

"Sit down, James," the gravelly voice was still familiar even after all these years. Pat looked tired, and worried, and even a little smug. "I see what you meant, Vickie," he said to his daughter, who visibly winced at the nickname. "He'd recognize you no matter what."

"Oh, yeah!" forgetting the admiral again, Jim turned to Victoria and tugged on a lock of her hair pointedly. "What the hell, Tori?"

Victoria sighed. Her normally red, untamed locks were tied back in the regulation chignon, but they were a midnight black now. She had obviously dyed her hair, something Jim knew for a fact she had vowed never to do. The thick, wire-rimmed spectacles perched on her nose were also not ones he had ever seen before. Victoria had never needed glasses. The eyes behind them were _definitely_ not hers – they were a dull brown, and looked slightly moist. She didn't look spectacularly different, of course, but she was no longer as striking as she'd been before, and Jim was sure he wouldn't have recognized her if he'd seen her around the base. "It's a long story," she said finally. She squeezed his hand. "I'm sorry I've been avoiding you. I can explain, I promise."

"You haven't got anything to explain, Tori," said Jim gently. He wrapped his arms around her again, kissing the top of her head. "Damn, you scared me. I always thought I'd die before you."

"Don't joke, kid," she scolded, and Jim was relieved to hear that her voice was steady. Victoria pulled back and patted his cheek affectionately. "I'm glad you're okay."

"Of course _I'm_ okay, it's _you_ we've been worried about," Jim shook his head. "You could have just come and met me in front of the crew, we've all been worried sick."

Victoria smiled a little and looked away, giving Jim the chance to examine her properly. She looked exhausted. She had always had an unlimited amount of energy, and their random meetings over the last few years had told him that had not changed, but he had never seen her look so drained. There were a few cuts and bruises on her face, her right hand was wrapped in a bandage and she seemed to be favouring her left leg. Almost as if her knees had given out, she sank into the chair she had previously occupied, gesturing for Jim to take the one opposite her. He obeyed immediately. "Sulu's having a complete meltdown," he continued gently, cradling her hand in both of his own. Her fingers dug into his palm with more force than necessary. "Hell, I think Bones has been trying to call you too, and the man can barely work a phone! I even called my _mom_ to try and find you," Victoria's lips twitched at his admission, but she didn't speak, despite her assurance that she could explain. "What's up?" he asked finally. "Are you in trouble?"

"It's a long story, James," said Pat, finally speaking again. Jim turned to him immediately, not feeling even the slightest bit awkward for his behaviour. Victoria was as good as his family, and Pat knew that better than anyone. "I'm glad to see you're so concerned, though."

"Did something happen?" the lack of information was getting frustrating. "Tori," he turned to her, noting with some surprise that she was still holding his hand tightly, almost as if she needed the support. "Tell me, are you in trouble? Do you need help?"

"Jim, it really _is_ a long story," sighed Victoria. "I need to make sure you know what you're getting yourself into if you –"

"I thought you were convinced that James was the best option, Vickie," Pat interrupted before Jim could reassure Victoria. He spoke condescendingly, and Jim was forcibly reminded of the few times Pat had been home from his constant work for Starfleet, when Victoria had looked after him when he was a child. Captain More hadn't been any nicer than Admiral More, addressing his daughter by a nickname she clearly disliked and talking down to both her and Jim any chance he got. But he'd been away most of the time, leaving the children to do as they pleased without enforcing too many rules, and they had both been grateful for that.

Victoria's eyes blazed, and Jim was sure she was remembering the same thing he was. "That doesn't mean he can't have a choice in the matter, _dad_ ," she spat out the word like it was venom. Jim winced.

"The situation has changed," said Pat firmly, not at all perturbed by her hostility. Victoria turned red. She had always hated how dismissive her father had been of her. Jim realized, if she really was in trouble, it had to be huge for her to go to him. "I understand your friendship and your affection for him, but I do not think Captain Kirk has the time and the ability to assist us in the way we require."

"Perhaps if you let me speak to him _alone_ , I will be able to judge that for myself."

"We've done things your way, Victoria. It didn't work."

"This is _my_ mess," she snapped suddenly. "I am the one who is living this nightmare, Admiral More, _not_ you, so do me a favour, shut the hell up, and let me talk to my kid."

Jim held his breath. Pat More was not a man to be talked to so flippantly, even he knew that.

To his surprise – because he'd seen fights between Pat and Victoria get ugly even before she was an adult – the admiral merely turned to him with a blank expression on his face. "James," his tone was conversational. "If Victoria did need help, would you be willing to assist her?"

There was no hesitation. "Anything," said Jim immediately.

Pat didn't look convinced. "You will likely have to lie to many people for possibly a long time," he said, his tone hinting that he didn't think Jim was up to it. "The higher-ups know what we are going to ask of you, but very few other people can be let in on this."

It was starting to make sense now. "You want to put Tori on my ship?"

"Victoria would like to accompany you for the rest of your mission, yes," said Pat. His choice of words made it very clear that he was not in favour of this plan. "I will leave you both to discuss details. I have a file that you can feed into your records for her, so that if someone searches for a list of your crew members they will come up with her verified backstory. Is that acceptable?" Jim nodded once. He knew he didn't have a choice in the matter. "I understand that Hikaru is your pilot, correct?" another nod. "That is unfortunate. It would be ideal if she were to be on a ship where no one knows her, but she's stubborn. I must insist, however, that the list of people who know that you have Dr. Victoria More on your ship should be as small as possible. Do you understand me, James?" Pat's green eyes bore into Jim's blue ones relentlessly. " _No one_ can know it's really her."

Jim nodded mutely. Pat nodded once, and then abruptly shut off the screen. As soon as he was gone, Victoria sighed.

"I'm so sorry," she whispered. Jim turned to face her in surprise. She looked like she was about to cry. "I didn't want to involve you, Jim, I promise, but I don't have anyone else I can trust."

"You can trust me," Jim assured her, squeezing her shoulder comfortingly. Tears were streaming down her cheeks now. "Come on, Tori, I haven't seen you cry in years," he tried to coax her into calming down. "I'm glad you came to me for help, I promise. You know you're family, right?"

"I know," she sounded as though the idea broke her heart. She took off her glasses and wiped her eyes, giving him an apologetic look. Jim merely sat back, hoping to convey the level of understanding he knew she needed. Eventually, she put her glasses back on and cleared her throat. "This isn't going to be easy, Jim."

"I know," he nodded. "Tell me."

And so she did.

Jim's head was spinning when she was done. As if understanding that he would have questions, Victoria conjured up a paper file seemingly out of nowhere, pushing the old-fashioned means of communication towards him. "You can read that if you decide to help me," she said quietly. "If you don't, just burn it. I don't want anyone to know what happened. And I hope you know I won't hold it against you if you can't help me," her green eyes were full of understanding. "It's dangerous, and you have your own crew to think about."

"You've looked out for me since I was a kid, Tori," said Jim. He tugged the file towards himself, and saw her eyes widen. He smiled. "I can look after myself, and my crew would not hesitate to help you if they knew your story. We'll keep you safe, and we'll be safe too."

"Does that mean –"

"Welcome to the _Enterprise,_ Dr. More," the boyish grin that always made her smile was back. He held out a hand for her to shake.

Victoria laughed, a little breathlessly. "Thank you, Captain Kirk." She took his hand.


	10. Chapter 10

**Nine**

" – so you see why we need to help her," concluded Jim. He leaned back in his chair and raised an eyebrow at his First Officer, who had listened to his entire story without a word, fingers joint at the tips as he surveyed his captain with no emotion. It had stopped bothering Jim a long time ago.

"Actually, Jim, I do not see why we have to help Dr. More at all," said Spock evenly. "Your personal relationship with her has nothing to do with our mission, or her current situation. It is unfortunate, of course, I cannot deny that, but I fail to see the logic in the idea that we are the only ones who can aid her. Her father is an admiral."

"Her father is an asshole," said Jim bluntly. "Trust me on this one, Spock, if she doesn't want his help she has a reason for it. And I already said I'd help her."

"Why?"

Jim raised his eyebrows. "What?"

"Why do you insist on helping her?" asked Spock. "Her father is an admiral with better connections than either of us could use to keep her safe from harm, and she has a perfectly intact family for moral support. I have seen that it is these two things human specifically want in times of crisis. So why you, Jim?"

Jim hesitated. "I owe her my life, Spock."

Spock raised an eyebrow. "You owe many people your life."

"This isn't like that," Jim shook his head. "Tori was all I had growing up. My mom was never around, and my uncle hated my guts. When I stole his car and took it for a joyride, I got arrested and –"

Spock's eyes widened. "You _stole_ a –"

"Yeah, not the contention point of the story, Spock," Jim rolled his eyes at the half-Vulcan's look. "I stole a car, crashed it, got busted. I was eleven, and Rupert didn't care what they did with me. They wanted to send me to Tarsus IV."

Spock raised an eyebrow again. "Are you saying –"

"– that I was almost present on the planet when the trigger-happy governor killed four thousand people?" asked Jim sardonically. "Yeah, Spock, I am. And I didn't end up there because of Tori."

Spock inclined his head in understanding. "She used her father's influence."

Jim snorted. "She used _her_ influence. Came into the station with my uncle in tow, yelled at the sergeant in charge for manhandling a minor, and made Rupert sign a ton of forms and a few cheques that got me off the hook in exchange for community service," Spock looked like he wanted to interrupt, but Jim held up a hand. "She was nineteen, home for the summer from college. Nearly blew her head off when she found out about what happened on that planet and called my mom to tell her to get her shit together or else she'd lose her son," Jim snorted at the memory. "My mom flew back almost immediately, but I ended up staying at Tori's the whole time. She drove me to community service every day for ninety days, picked me up, made me breakfast and dinner, and didn't bat an eye when I ran away from home when I was fifteen. She let me crash in her empty house when I needed to, paid my hospital bills every time I got in a fight, basically kept me alive until Pike found me and got me to enlist. I know you think emotions compromise your decisions, Spock," said Jim earnestly. "But I can't abandon her now. Tori is the closest thing to family that I've got. I'd do the same for my sister, for my _mom._ You get that, right?"

Of course he did. Spock leaned back in his chair, and judging by the minute emotion that he allowed himself to know, Jim knew he understood. "If you have made your decision I fail to see why you asked my opinion."

"I didn't ask your opinion, exactly," said Jim, grinning. "I wanted to ask for your help."

"My help?"

"You wanted to hire her before, didn't you?"

Spock looked torn. "Considering her situation –"

"She's brilliant despite her situation and you know it, Spock," interrupted Jim. "If we're having her on board _anyway_ , surely it would be better if she was working at whatever she's good at? We could always use more exobiologists, and she's the best one out there. We already have an opening in geosciences."

"Her background –"

"Taken care of. I'll send you the file later. It's toned down so that if someone tries to search for her she won't turn up, but it still leaves her more than qualified."

"She will need a new identity," Spock tried again, but Jim knew he was winning. Not only was he annoying, but he had finally appealed to Spock's logic. And he knew having Victoria More on their ship would only do them good.

"She has one," shot back Jim. "The name is Dr. Natira Woodville. There's no connection to her whatsoever, so she'll be virtually untraceable. I can still call her Tori as a shortened version of Natira, in case I want to, but I'll hold off on being seen with her publicly so that doesn't look too suspicious. She's changed her appearance pretty drastically, so that shouldn't be a problem either."

Spock almost looked like he wanted to roll his eyes. "This is not a spy movie, Jim. A new haircut is not going to deter someone who wants to find her."

"Well," Jim looked smug. "She's been sitting at the table to your left since we walked in here and you haven't noticed her, have you?"

Spock was finally caught off guard. He turned to his left and narrowed his eyes, spotting a vaguely familiar, dark-haired woman seated at a table alone, sipping a drink and reading something on her PADD. Almost as if she sensed his eyes watching her, she looked up and gave both men a half-smile. Jim smirked and beckoned her over, and she crossed the room easily, sinking into a chair between them and smiling a little wider.

"My stylist told me only Vulcans were observant enough to see through her work," said Victoria. She picked up Jim's drink without invitation and took a sip. "I'll have to pay her double for fooling you, Mr. Spock,"

"Dr. More," Spock greeted, still faintly surprised. Jim looked delighted.

"Dr. Woodville," corrected Victoria mildly. "You ought to get used to that one."

Once he had gotten over his surprise, Spock did not look pleased. "You seem to have figured it all out."

"I have a few conditions that Jim doesn't agree with, but I think you will."

"Such as?"

"Minimum contact with your crew to ensure that nobody can be coerced into revealing my location," said Victoria. Her tone could rival Spock's when it came to a lack of emotion. "I also want to request that we avoid mentioning this to Dr. McCoy."

"He is the CMO," countered Spock immediately. "And considering your health requirements, it would be unwise to keep him in the dark."

Victoria shook her head. "He cannot be involved, Commander. I understand that I've done little to earn your trust in the matter, but you need to believe me when I say that the less any of you know, the better."

Spock looked unconvinced. Jim sighed. "We need you on board, Spock. Tori's willing to do pretty much anything in the science department to make herself useful, and she's too smart for us to waste her talents."

There was a long silence as the half-Vulcan considered their words. "Perhaps it would be better to agree to avoid mentioning your presence on the ship to Dr. McCoy until absolutely necessary," said Spock finally. "Was I correct in assuming that you will have certain medical requirements?"

"For the foreseeable future, yes. If he signs off on the medication, I can administer it myself easily."

"That is reasonable. But we cannot guarantee that he will never see you or interact with you for the next two years."

Victoria's lips twitched. "So you're giving me what I want without proming me anything. How very diplomatic of you, Commander."

Jim shrugged. "Just don't get killed and you can avoid Bones as much as you want. We'll give him your fake file and hopefully he'll be too busy saving my ass to wonder who the hell you are."

Victoria sighed. "Until absolutely necessary," she agreed, reluctantly.

Spock inclined his head. "Then welcome aboard, Dr. Woodville."

 **!**

"Damn it, Spock!" McCoy groaned as the Vulcan appeared in his peripheral vision, nearly making him drop the syringe he was holding. "What're you creepin' around for?"

"My apologies, Doctor," said Spock, stepping into the office and standing uncomfortably still near the door. His hands were behind his back. "I did not realize your aviophobia was strong even whilst we are in warp."

"'Course you didn't," muttered McCoy. He dropped the syringe back into the pile he was inspecting and reluctantly turned to face the half-Vulcan. "Can I help you?"

"Ah, yes," never one to waste words, Spock promptly offered him the file he had been holding behind his back. "I have a new patient for you."

"Do you now?" asked McCoy sarcastically, taking the file. He didn't open it. "Why isn't this in my system?"

"I have no doubt that it is, but Dr. Woodville is in my department and I felt it my responsibility that you know the circumstances as soon as possible."

McCoy rolled his eyes. "Every person on this ship is my patient, Spock, favouritism isn't really my style when I'm saving a life."

"I am aware of that, Doctor," said Spock. "However, you will find that Dr. Woodville requires a precise set of medications. It would be my request that you would prepare them yourself."

"Myself?" McCoy flipped to the last page of the file, which contained medical history, scanning it quickly. With every word his face seemed to get redder and redder, a sign, Spock was sure, that the doctor was getting angry. "What the –"

"I can feel Bones' anger from all the way over here," said Jim dryly, sauntering in without invite. He spared both his friends a glance, noted McCoy's purple face and Spock's impassive one, and sighed. "You'd think practically being abandoned together on a desolate planet would have made you both friends."

"Dr. McCoy and I are on perfectly good terms, Captain."

 _"I'll give you good terms, you hobgoblin!"_

Jim winced. "If he blows an artery, Spock, I'm putting you in charge of medical."

Spock, however, did not seem bothered. "Doctor, I do not see what the problem is."

"The problem?" spluttered McCoy. "You mean _other_ than the fact that this guy is a walking _disaster?_ Who cleared him for duty, _in deep space_ , anyway? I ought to –" muttering profanities, he flipped a few pages, eyes narrowed in concentration. "There isn't even a damn attending physician's name! Where did you pick this guy up, Jim?"

"What guy?" asked Jim, the same time as Spock spoke, "I requested Dr. Woodville's presence on this ship many years ago, we are lucky to have such experienced personnel on board."

Jim's eyes widened at the name, but he schooled his expression into one of faint interest when McCoy turned to face him, practically breathing fire. "Jim, this guy is trouble," he said bluntly. When Jim continued to look blank, he flicked open the file to a random page and read it out. "Woodville, N. Most recently involved in the collapse of Yorktown Plaza, surviving with broken leg and arm, concussion, cracked skull and three broken ribs. No immediately family, unable to contact next of kin," McCoy looked up and pressed the file into Jim's hands. "Read it," he insisted. "There's more stuff, just like that. He needs regular doctor visits, a hell of a lot of counselling and therapy, and he might even need a few more surgeries! You don't go through this stuff and then jump off into the next assignment that comes your way!"

"Yorktown has cleared Dr. Woodville for duty and the doctors who performed the initial surgeries have assessed that there is no lasting damage," said Spock calmly. "If there is, Dr. McCoy, our medbay is sufficient to deal with it."

"Sufficient?" demanded McCoy. "Hell, I've already done three surgeries since we left the base and that was just this morning! You don't send anyone whose health is at less than one hundred per cent into space, Spock!"

"Bones, we can't send Woodville back now," said Jim carefully, noticing that Spock was no longer speaking. He had no doubt that the Vulcan agreed with McCoy's sentiments. He had certainly made that clear when they had spoken last night. "Let's just make the best of a bad situation, eh?"

McCoy didn't stop scowling. "You can't just dump patients on me that _clearly_ need more care than we can provide and expect me to be happy about it, Jim. I'm a doctor, not a damn nursemaid!"

Jim sighed, but before he could say anything Spock interjected coldly. "Perhaps if you spent less time indulging in the bottle of whiskey under your desk, Doctor, you would find –"

"I wouldn't need whiskey if you weren't so damn emotionless, you f–"

"Alright, shut up!" Jim snapped, causing both officers to quiet abruptly. He shoved the unopened file back at McCoy. "I'll see about updating your records so you don't have to lug around that file, Bones. Until then, just give Woodville whatever is needed, okay?"

"Who the hell is this guy anyway?" demanded McCoy, shifting his annoyance from Spock to Jim. "I haven't treated him before, Jim, I can't hand out drugs like they're candy!"

"If the file says its required, you do it. That's an order," said Jim, his tone brokering no arguments. "Spock, join me on the bridge."

They made their way outside and McCoy muttered to himself grumpily, but stomped off in the direction of a trembling nurse, barking orders before heading back to his office. Jim waited until he was gone before turning to Spock as they made their way to the upper deck. "Thought we agreed to keep her _away_ from everyone, Spock?" he raised his eyebrows.

Spock didn't seem remorseful. "Dr. More requires treatment for the injuries she sustained during the attack on Yorktown. Dr. McCoy is the most qualified on this ship to provide her with the help she needs."

"He's not supposed to know she's on the ship, Spock, she specifically asked us not to tell him."

"He merely has to treat her, Captain, not see her," said Spock, as if it were obvious. Jim waited for an explanation. "The medicines she takes do not require Dr. McCoy to administer them. Nurse Riley has already agreed to deliver them to Dr. More's quarters, and Dr. McCoy will not question it if she does not enter the medbay herself."

"No contact whatsoever," Jim rolled his eyes. "And here I thought you were trying to be a match-maker, Spock."

"No, Captain, I calculate the probability of Dr. McCoy and Dr. More being happy together under the current circumstances to be at less than thirty percent."

Jim snorted. "Have you done the math on what their compatibility would be like without this mess?"

Spock didn't even bat an eyelid. "Possibly ninety percent, Captain."

 **!**

Victoria punched in her access code quickly, the incoming footsteps making her pulse race even though she knew she was perfectly safe on board a ship in warp. Nevertheless, it wasn't until the metal doors slid shut behind her with a satisfying _hiss_ that she finally let out the breath she had been holding the whole way to her room.

It was a standard suite, with a small living area, a bedroom through one set of doors and an ensuite through another. There was a replicator, the cupboards were already stocked with some basic crockery, cutlery and a few other utensils, and there was a brand new PADD on the coffee table in front of the sofa waiting for her. Overall, the room had the bare minimum provided and for that she was glad. She didn't want a room that reminded her too much of her old one on board the _USS Omega._ She had had time then, a luxury she had taken for granted, and her living quarters had been full of things that reminded her of home, her family, friends, even work. Jim had assured her she could do what she liked with this one, but she would be a fool to make the room homey. She didn't have a home. Her things were piled in a corner straight from the transporter room, and she had no doubt that was where they would stay for the majority of her time on board.

Nevertheless, there was one feature of the room that was familiar, and one she was grateful for. Feeling her quietening pulse beginning to speed up again, she quickly made her way to the small wall computer near the replicator, accessing it with her details and doing a quick scan of the rota that Spock had sent her earlier that day. She wasn't on the Alpha shift, which meant she had over six hours before she absolutely needed to show her face to anyone. It should have been plenty of time to unpack, unwind, and maybe eat something.

But Victoria did not have plans to do any such thing. Wincing at her own actions, she logged out of her account and typed in another access code, her fingers hesitating on the last button. Nevertheless, she pressed enter and waited, chewing on her lip nervously. The computer's voice nearly gave her a heart attack.

 _"Access code accepted. Welcome, Captain Kirk."_

"Sorry, Jim," muttered Victoria. She avoided the icons that led to logs and personnel reports, instead going to the search feature that she knew very few captains had to utilise. She doubted Jim even knew it existed. The screen lit up with a timer, as the system began to collect data on Starfleet officers currently on board all deployed ships. Victoria kept her eyes fixed on it as she dug around in the pocket of her uniform. The crumpled piece of paper she pulled out was worn, but the handwriting on it was still perfectly readable. She smoothed it out, checked it over once more even though she knew its contents by heart, and then took a deep breath. "Computer, search Lieutenant Dr. Dimitri Nikols."

 _"Lieutenant Dr. Nikols. Assignment: USS Albatross."_

Victoria didn't pause. "Computer, search Commander Jennifer Adams."

 _"Commander Adams. Assignment: USS Albatross."_

"Dr. Lionel Hofstadter."

 _"Lieutenant Dr. Hofstadter. Assignment: USS Omega-G."_

Victoria took another deep breath. "Computer, search Lieutenant Dr. Victoria More."

 _"Lieutenant Dr. More. Assignment not available."_

"Last known assignment?"

 _"Last known assignment for Lieutenant Dr. More: USS Omega."_

"Current location?"

 _"Current location for Lieutenant Dr. More not available."_

So far so good. "Computer, search Dr. Natira Woodville."

 _"Dr. Woodville. Current assignment: USS Enterprise-A."_

"Position?"

 _"Dr. Woodville is an exobiologist in Sciences subdivision Planetary Geosciences."_

Victoria nodded to herself. "Computer, identify speaker."

 _"Speaker is Dr. Natira Woodville of USS Enterprise-A."_

"System close," the screen went blank, and she quickly re-entered her own details. "Computer, set alarm for 0900 hours."

 _"Wake-up for Dr. Woodville set for 0900 hours."_

"Lights twenty per cent." She could unpack later. For now, she _really_ needed sleep.


	11. Chapter 11

**Ten**

"Victoria?"

Arm still outstretched towards the keypad next to her door, Victoria froze at the unfamiliar voice calling her name, a name _no one_ should know. It wasn't Jim either. Whirling around, she could not decide whether to be upset or relieved when she saw it was Uhura.

The dark-skinned woman smiled at her, slightly hesitantly. "Hey."

"Hi," replied Victoria. She didn't know what else to say.

Uhura cleared her throat and gestured towards her door. "Can we talk?"

"Yeah, of course," blinking rapidly, Victoria unlocked the door and gestured for Uhura to go in first. Glancing around the empty corridor once more, she followed her in. She tried to smile. "Can I help you?"

Uhura didn't answer. Instead, she smiled and looked around the room. "I love what you've done with the place."

Victoria rolled her eyes. Her room was as sparse as it had been two days ago, when she had first walked in. "Thanks, being on the run really gives me time to channel my inner decorator."

Uhura bit her lip to suppress a laugh. "Jim said you might be upset that I knew."

 _"Jim_ told you?" Victoria was aghast. "Wasn't it Spock?"

This time it was Uhura who rolled her eyes. "He can't break a rule if his life depends on it," she said wryly. "You think he'd disobey a direct order from his captain?"

Victoria folded her arms across her chest. "You tell me, you're the one dating a half-Vulcan."

"Even I don't understand how his brain works sometimes."

"Ah, now you just sound like every other woman," Victoria shook her head. "Fine, I'll bite. You're not going to tell me how you found out I was here, so what _are_ you here for?"

"I'm coming off as more mysterious than I am," Uhura looked slightly chagrined. "I knew you were on the ship, clearly. I just don't know why."

It took Victoria only a few seconds to figure out what had happened. "Ah, so Spock _hasn't_ breached protocol," she smiled a little. "You knew I was on the ship because you're the communications expert and you must have heard Admiral More send over my credentials so I could be put into the system. And because talking about it with someone who already knew won't be against the rules, Spock has talked to you about me. You can't say Vulcans aren't clever."

Uhura continued to smile innocently. "I just think the ship is a better place if you have friends, Victoria."

"I've got Jim."

"Jim is reckless at worst and emotional at best," Uhura didn't say it unkindly. It was a fact. "You need someone with a clear head."

"And you think that's you."

"Maybe."

Victoria shook her head smilingly. "You're not stupid, Nyota. We both know Spock has put you up to this because he's worried about having me on the ship."

"Be that as it may, I wouldn't be here if I didn't want to be."

"So you think I'm a threat too?"

"No. I really _do_ think space is a better place with friends," Uhura's eyes softened. "Jim told me why he let you on the ship, Victoria. Spock may have trouble wrapping his head around it, but I don't. You don't practically raise a kid and get him out of trouble for over a decade, and then throw him _and_ everyone he cares about into harm's way unless you have no other choice."

Victoria sighed. "So you want to know my story?" Uhura nodded. "It's a long one. And I can't tell you everything. Most of it is classified. Some of it is personal."

"I understand," said Uhura. "I'm willing to accept whatever you can tell me. But I do need to know more than I already do."

Inwardly, Victoria wondered if the woman realized how much she sounded like Spock sometimes. "I've been very careful to stay under the radar, since the incident with Nero a few years ago," she began quietly. "I had nothing to do with it, but I was part of an expedition in the Laurentian system when it happened, on one of the smaller ships that had been given a specific task by a highly-ranked admiral," Uhura's face was calm and blank, so Victoria trudged on reluctantly. "Skipping out the classified parts, let's just say we found what we were told to look for. What we weren't told, however, was that we weren't supposed to use it."

"You found and used something you weren't supposed to?" Uhura frowned. "That sounds like every single mission I've ever been on with Jim."

"You can probably blame me for his lack of self-preservation, then," Victoria tried to smile, even though the last thing she wanted to be thinking about was the past. "It was a gaseous substance, radioactive and volatile, but our ship's scientists were eager to prove that we weren't just a bunch of average cadets, so we found a way to neutralize its harmful properties, and discovered these amazing healing abilities," despite herself, Victoria could feel herself getting excited. "It was incredible, really. The substance reacted with the human body in just the most brilliant ways, but you needed vast amounts of it in order to make it work. So we compressed the gas until it became a solid, like an ice-cube that didn't melt. It wouldn't absorb into the bloodstream, and it had healing properties the likes of which you'd never be able to find on Earth, or anywhere else for that matter. The effects were purely medicinal, and it had the capability to made regenerative technology completely obsolete," and then Victoria's excitement suddenly diminished, and a haunted look crept into her eyes. "Of course, we didn't know any of this until the CMO used it."

Uhura's eyes widened fractionally. "They used it on you."

"In a manner of speaking," Victoria grimaced. "The damn ship was basically a free-floating laboratory and the entire crew were lab-rats without even realizing it. They'd actually been using it for weeks, without telling the rest of the science division, before it was my turn. A few weeks after they'd developed their prototype, my captain and I were on the planet when there was an incident. I saved her, but I sustained massive injuries. I broke a lot of bones," she added, when Uhura seemed to be scanning her for wounds. "I shattered all the bones on my right side, punctured a lung and lost a lot of blood by the time we got beamed back up. If they had tried to do transfusions there would have been no point, because there was no way to recover from skeletal damage of that degree. The substance had already been used successfully once, and my captain had seen the effects. She asked the CMO to use it again, on me. It saved my life," taking a deep breath, Victoria bent down and rolled up the cuff of her trousers to her knee, straightening her leg. She saw Uhura's eyes widen with shock. Right above her kneecap, so small you could miss it, was an obvious bump under her skin, in a perfect square shape.

Uhura's eyes were full of sympathy when Victoria cleared her throat and lowered her pant leg again. "It's made you a target."

"I wish it had," Victoria snorted. "No, I'm being hunted alright, but it's for completely personal reasons. I did something stupid when I was young, and I initially stayed out on assignments to keep away from Earth. But then this happened, and Ben got married, so I tried to come back because space wasn't agreeing with me. Yorktown was supposed to be safe, but I got found out," she winced. "The _Enterprise_ seemed the best solution. It's hard to find someone when the ship they're on doesn't have a definite route mapped out."

"I still don't understand how Starfleet is letting you roam free," Uhura shook her head. "I'm glad you're safe, but you should be locked up in a cage. We know how they work by now."

"They'd lock me up if they could, but the admiral who ran our mission was easy to reason with," and Victoria smiled a slow, secret smile that told Uhura she wouldn't be able to gain any more information on that topic from her. "The only problem is the upkeep of this little guy," she tapped her knee. "Fortunately, they've made enough of our findings public in the medical community that I can get away with some specific hyposprays and no one will ask any questions."

"And that's why Dr. McCoy has your file but not your real name," said Uhura knowingly.

Victoria sighed. "I'd like to tell him," she confessed. "I don't doubt that he's a good guy and a great doctor, but it's too risky. I _had_ to tell Jim everything, because he needs to understand what he's chancing by helping me. I know Jim had to tell Spock because he needed his help to make the decision. I haven't told you enough to put you in any danger, but Dr. McCoy?" she shook her head. "He's a doctor. He'd ask a million questions, all legitimate, and each one would make me want to answer it. I can't risk it. The less anyone knows, the better it is."

"You can't keep it a secret forever."

"I can't," admitted Victoria. "But I'm sure as hell going to try."

"I won't push you," said Uhura patiently. "And I understand your reservations. If it helps, you can talk to me about it in code. I'm a xenolinguist, after all," she smirked. "I should be able to understand subtleties."

Victoria laughed. "Thank you, Nyota," she said genuinely. "I'm sorry I can't tell you more, but this is really for the best."

Uhura nodded. "I get it. But I don't agree with your isolation plan," she added, standing up to leave and smoothing out her uniform skirt. "A few of us girls meet every week for drinks and some downtime, and I'm inviting you. You don't have to say yes right away," she assured her, when Victoria opened her mouth to say no. "Just think about it. This ship can be a really lonely place, Victoria."

"Don't I know it," Victoria sighed quietly, but reluctantly agreed to consider Uhura's request as the other woman smiled and left.


	12. Chapter 12

**Eleven**

Victoria had survived the first month.

She was impressed with herself, if she was hoenst. She had had no panic attacks, no unexpected communications, and faced no awkward questions. The majority of the science department was as new as her, and her rank as lieutenant combined with her ability to blend in with her surroundings meant that, other than the occasional wave in the hallway or the odd question at the end of her shift, she rarely had to talk to anyone. Spock checked in more often than she supposed he would have had he not had a person with practically no identity working under him, but she kept her eyes down and focused on whatever task she was given, and was grateful that he seemed to find nothing to complain about.

She avoided the mess hall entirely and ate in her room from the replicator, which she personally hated but knew was necessary. Hikaru joined her sometimes, always concerned and always with a new piece of gossip or information that made her smile. Spock had practically lifted Uhura from her chair when her console had malfunctioned, Chekov's English was giving the new engineers trouble, to the extent that they had almost caused a major fault with the transporter, Scotty had beaten up one of the doctors when they had complained that the damn ship was what would kill them all in the end (she hoped it hadn't been Dr. McCoy) and Jim was practically bouncing around in his chair with boredom.

And it was true, he was restless. He dropped by Victoria's room at least twice a week, sometimes to have a drink and sometimes just to chat. She appreciated it, because it made her feel less like she was putting his entire ship in danger. In fact, the more bored Jim got the more grateful she was. If he was bored, it meant nothing dangerous was happening. And if there was no danger, they were all safe. From her, and from anything else that was out to get them.

"Everything okay, Woodville?" Victoria jumped and forced herself to look up at the unfamiliar name. Lieutenant Homer gave her a concerned look, but she smiled and waved him off, returning to her files and chastising herself for not paying attention. However, Homer was not to be deterred. "A bunch of us are heading to the mess hall now," he continued, in an obvious attempt to keep her in conversation. "Sort of to destress. Would you like to join us?"

"That's very nice of you," replied Victoria, keeping a small, pleasant smile on her face. It wasn't hard; that was her default expression. "But, I have plans."

"Ah, I see," Homer nodded, looking only slightly disappointed. He was persistent, but he was also hesitant to annoy her. That was good. The less anyone questioned her, the better.

Shaking her head slightly, she returned to her file, only raising her hand slightly in farewell as the rest of Beta shift left the room. She was often in the lab till late, mostly out of choice. It was Tuesday. Jim wouldn't be coming to see her since she knew he played poker with the rest of the bridge crew on Tuesdays, so Hikaru wouldn't be free either. She had time to kill, and she figured she could start on the cultures she had left in the sun-room for tomorrow as well. They were asteroid debris that had been picked up from deep space, and she had been working on them for a week to determine their point of origin so as to better navigate their way through what was basically nothingness. So far, she hadn't come up with much.

Victoria had settled into the sun-room and was cautiously taking readings of the material with her scanner when her comm beeped. It was a sound that, though she remembered, she was so unused to that she jumped about a foot in the air and almost dropped her scanner. Cursing herself, she flipped it open, hoping she didn't sound as breathless as she felt.

"Woodville," she said curtly.

" _Hi, Natira, it's Nurse Riley from the medbay,"_ came the chirpy voice from the speaker. _"I came by to drop off your meds for the week, are you not in?"_

"Oh, no, sorry," Victoria slapped a hand to her forehead. How had she forgotten? Nurse Riley always came by on Tuesdays with her weekly hypos. "I can be there in, umm, twenty minutes?" she cringed as she looked at her experiment. She couldn't abandon it just now.

 _"Oh, that's okay. I'm off shift now, but I'll have someone else deliver them to you in an hour, if you want?"_

Victoria sighed in relief. "That would be great, Nurse Riley. I'm so sorry to be a pain."

 _"Oh, don't worry about it! I'll send someone over at 0700 hours."_

"Great, thanks again."

 _"You're welcome. See you next week!"_

Victoria switched off her comm and went back to her task, rushing slightly to meet her new deadline. The cultures needed at least three hours of observation without interruption, so she decided to look in on them at her next shift. She had some paperwork to do, but she could easily do that after Nurse Riley's replacement dropped off her hypos. Packing up the equipment and quickly logging in her latest findings, she waved a quick goodbye to the few stragglers still in the laboratory and made her way back to her room.

The hallways were deserted, and Victoria was grateful for the lack of distractions. Keeping her head down and buried in her PADD – she wasn't reading anything important but it was an excellent way to avoid detection – she reached her room in record time.

 _"Three messages for Dr. Woodville awaiting response."_

Victoria scowled at the computer's voice. Considering her lack of social interaction, it always annoyed her how _cheery_ the automated voice sounded every time she walked in.

Sighing, she leaned against the wall as she took off her shoes. "Woodville, Natira. Access code sigma, delta, four, nine, twenty-six."

 _"Messages from Captain James T. Kirk, Nurse Riley, and Lieutenant Uhura awaiting response."_

Victoria frowned. "What does Uhura want?"

 _"Hi, Tori, it's Nyota. The boys are playing poker tonight so the girls are getting together in the mess hall later for drinks. It's just me, Hannity and a couple of engineers. Jim said I shouldn't ask since you might be busy but I wanted to anyway, you're welcome to join us anytime after seven. See you."_

Oh. That was oddly sweet. Victoria shut off the computer before it could bug her to listen to her other messages and sat down heavily on the armchair next to the screen. After their conversation during her first week on the ship, Victoria had run into Uhura regularly, but it was a happy occurrence that she almost looked forward to. Uhura hadn't seemed to judge her, had not even questioned her after their initial talk. She called her Tori every time they met, smiled at her if they ever caught each other's eye in public, and this was the second message she had left for her to join her friends for drinks after shifts ended. Victoria hadn't gone the last time, she had been too afraid to venture out. Now, however, she was tempted. It was only six in the morning, which meant she had plenty of time to take a nap and then get ready and go anyway. Hadn't Spock said something about her being unable to avoid everyone for two years, after all?

Mind made up, Victoria fumbled through her closet for something comfortable to sleep in, set an appropriate alarm, and stumbled into the shower. Being vigilant was one thing, but nobody had said she had to become a complete hermit.

 **!**

"Remind me again why I agreed to this?" grumbled McCoy.

M'Benga didn't look up from his PADD. "Because Julia Riley is your best nurse, she has never asked for a favour, she is overworked and your quarters are on the same deck."

"I still don't get _why –"_

"Quit complaining and just go, Leonard," M'Benga rolled his eyes. "Julia's never complained about Woodville, I'm sure he's just a brainy scientist who you'll terrify into silence as you do the rest of the department."

"I wish I could terrify people into silence,'" muttered McCoy, but nevertheless grabbed the kit of hyposprays and stomped off towards his destination. He had been slightly surprised when Nurse Riley had informed him that she wouldn't mind taking over his care for Dr. Woodville, but he hadn't put much thought into it. He still made the hyposprays himself, of course, but administering them wasn't as much of a problem. He had read the man's file. Dr. Woodville had sufficient training to do them himself if he so chose, but he had to admit it made him feel better that there was a medical officer doing it.

Which was why he was now heading to deliver the medicine just before he went to his own quarters, got some sleep and then sat down to beat Jim's ass in poker again later that night. Nurse Riley had asked M'Benga to make the housecall, but the other doctor was already monitoring a patient suffering from third degree burns – he'd have to kill Scotty for that later – so McCoy had found himself stuck with the job. It wasn't that he _minded,_ of course, it was just _annoying._ Jim and Spock were still tight-lipped about the guy, and he hadn't seen him even once since they'd left Yorktown. Reluctantly, however, he'd put Dr. Woodville out of his mind once it became clear the man wasn't going to be a problem.

Because of this, he'd have to at least try and be pleasant. The man was obviously well-versed with these sort of procedures, so McCoy doubted he'd be much of an annoyance. Checking to see that he was in front of the correct door, he knocked loudly.

There was silence at the other end, and then he heard a muffled, distinctly female voice call out. "Who is it?"

McCoy groaned. Considering the man had asked Nurse Riley himself to come back after an hour, he really shouldn't have company right now. Still, he called back, a little gruffly, "Nurse Riley sent me with the hypos."

There was an awkward silence after he spoke, stretched to a point where McCoy wondered if the door would ever open. Eventually the heavy metal door slid open, but only a fraction. Peeking out from behind the frame was half a face, very pale, with dark hair slicked back, obviously fresh from a shower. A single, brown eye gazed up at him in something that looked like utter terror, and the quick glance he got of the woman's face was familiar, but McCoy couldn't place it. He could, however, see that she was clad in nothing but a towel and seemed very confused to see him.

McCoy wanted to scowl. Really, couldn't Woodville keep it in his pants until _after_ he'd left?

Understanding that perhaps the man's _guest_ hadn't known about his medications, McCoy cleared his throat. "I don't suppose Dr. Woodville is in?" he asked, a little sardonically. The brown eye blinked once. The quick glimpse he caught of her face before she ducked behind the door again seemed to tug at his memory. He frowned at his thoughts. Of course he'd seen her before. He'd probably even treated her at one point or the other. "Right, I need to give these hypos to him, so –"

"Him?" asked the woman.

McCoy sighed. "Yes. Dr. Woodville needs the medicine. Look, if he's inside could you just –"

"He said you could leave them," said the woman abruptly "He'll take them himself." Her voice was hoarse, either naturally husky or perhaps from lack of use. Whatever the reason, it made him feel like he'd heard her speak before as well.

But McCoy didn't argue. Woodville was making his task easier for him if he didn't have to talk to anyone. Holding out the box, he was surprised when the woman swiped it from his palm wordlessly and shut the door as soon as it was in her possession.

"What the –"

On the opposite side of the door, Victoria leaned against the wall and slid down to the floor, clutching the box of hypos to her chest. She couldn't decide whether she wanted to laugh or panic.


	13. Chapter 13

**Twelve**

"I'm bored!"

McCoy didn't look up from his PADD. "Shut up, Jim."

"Oh, come on, Bones," Jim sighed and tossed an apple into the air, catching it again before taking a loud bite. "We've been out for six weeks and _nothing's_ happened yet!"

"You say that like it's a bad thing," said McCoy dryly. Shutting off his PADD, he gave Jim a look. "Have you called your mom?"

Jim blanched. "What does that have to do with anything?"

"You're bored. Do something useful."

"I could think of a few things which are _way_ more useful than that."

McCoy grunted. "'Course you could."

"What are you working on anyway?"

"Nothin', kid. I'm writing to Joanna."

"How is she?" asked Jim curiously. "Cerberus treating her okay?"

"She hates it," McCoy snorted. "I'm worried about telling her where exactly I am, she's more'n capable of turning up in a stolen shuttle."

Jim chuckled. "Wonder who she gets the adventurous spirit from?"

"It ain't from Pam, I'll tell you that much."

Jim shuddered. "Don't even say the name, Bones."

"Amen to that."

They sat in companionably silence for a while, and McCoy finished writing his message. When he looked up, Jim seemed thoughtful. "What is it, kid?"

"You ever hear from Tori again?"

McCoy blinked. "Victoria?"

"Yeah," Jim nodded, suddenly seeming very interested in his apple.

McCoy frowned. "No, I didn't," Jim winced at his words, and grudgingly McCoy felt the need to reassure him. "But she's okay."

"How'd you know that?"

Heat crept up McCoy's neck in embarrassment. He cleared his throat, but his actions only caused Jim to look more curious. "I checked the database in Yorktown before we left," he admitted finally. "I was working in the hospital for a few weeks before the ship was fixed, so my access codes were still good. She was admitted for some minor injuries after the plaza collapsed, but she was cleared and went back to Earth a couple of days before the repairs to the ship were done."

He braced himself, fully expecting Jim to tease him mercilessly. He wasn't blind – he'd seen his friend throw meaningful glances his way every time he had so much as looked at Victoria More, and when Jim had discovered her contact information in his pocket months ago he'd almost tackled him to the ground.

To his surprise, however, Jim merely nodded, as if that was the answer he'd expected. "I'm glad she's okay," was all he said. Then, his eyes twinkled. "I still have two bottles of that hooch she makes stashed away."

McCoy rolled his eyes. "Why am I not surprised that you saved it?"

"You know you secretly want some, Bones."

McCoy waved him off. "Maybe later. Go down to the science deck and ask them if they've got something interesting for you to do."

Oddly, Jim's eyes glinted at the suggestion. McCoy frowned, but the captain was already standing up. "Excellent idea, Bones!" he sounded more excited than he should have been. "Why didn't I think of that?"

"Search me," McCoy watched him leave in bemusement.

 **!**

"Captain Kirk," Lieutenant Homer greeted him in surprise. "I – what are you doing here?"

"Nothing of interest," Jim shrugged, eyes twinkling as he glanced at the people milling about. The regulation uniform of science blues made it difficult for him to decipher who was who, but nevertheless he smiled at a few people he recognized and acknowledged the greetings of the others. "Just hoping for an update. Can I count on you for the grand tour, Lieutenant?"

"I – yes, of course, sir," stammered Homer, gesturing for Jim to follow him. "Is there anything in particular you are interested in?"

"Let's just start with your most interesting project," grinned Jim. "I always like to have the good news first."

At his words, Homer seemed to lose some of his nervousness. "Lieutenant Carner is doing some fascinating research into the possibility of lifeforms of a sub-human nature on a microscopic level on passing debris."

"You're working with Carner, aren't you?" asked Jim. Homer turned red. Jim chuckled, fully aware that his up-to-date knowledge on other's people's work often threw them off. "I know _your_ research is fascinating, Lieutenant. What else is new around here?"

Grinning sheepishly, Homer gestured for him to follow. "Lieutenant Woodville is a new addition to our crew," he said, leading Jim towards the back of the lab where the sun-room was located. "She is working on the debris as well, but is attempting to trace their origin to better plan a course for the ship to take, towards active life-forms."

"Sounds promising," said Jim, fighting to keep the glee out of his voice. "And how is Lieutenant Woodville? She comes very highly recommended."

Homer shrugged. "Quiet, keeps to herself. She hasn't yielded any concrete results but we're optimistic," they arrived at the entrance of the sun-room, and Homer punched in the intercom code. "Lieutenant, is it possible for us to come in?" he spoke into the built-in microphone.

The answer came a few seconds later. _"Of course."_

Homer entered another code and gestured for Jim to go first. "She's jumpy," he explained, almost apologetically as the stepped through and he sealed the artificial garden behind them. "Completely understandable. I've found it's always best to let her know we're coming in."

Jim nodded, slightly distracted by his surroundings. He had never been in the sun-room, though in theory he knew it was a chamber conditioned to reflect the climate most suited to whatever the experiments needed. Currently, they were in a pleasant English countryside garden, with rose bushes and creeping vines. The only indication that the sun-room was completely artificial was the slight buzz in the background of machines whirring to keep the simulation alive. A few feet in front of them was Victoria, huddled over a work-bench and meticulously making notes on her PADD as she observed what looked like an empty glass dish.

Jim took a moment to inspect her. The glasses he still wasn't used to seeing were lying next to her PADD, and she looked remarkably like her old self, if he could ignore the black hair. She was wearing the regulation blue uniform dress that he had heard her complain about often; it was too short, clingy, overtly sexualizing and completely impractical in case of emergencies. He made a mental note to have a memo sent around that female officers were welcome to wear trousers, if they preferred. Of course, Victoria had already found a way around the rules, and was wearing a long, white lab-coat over the dress, with a pair of high-heeled black pumps that Jim was sure did not belong in a science lab. He added her shoe choices to the long list of things he wanted to talk to her about.

Victoria looked up just when they were practically on top of her, and schooled her look of surprise remarkably well. Jim waggled his eyebrows at her, knowing Homer couldn't see his expression. Her lips twitched.

"Captain," she greeted, standing up and saluting, a little sarcastically. "What a pleasant surprise."

"Isn't it?" said Jim brightly. Homer looked slightly confused at their familiarity, so Jim decided to amend the situation. "How are you settling in, Lieutenant? I'm sorry we haven't had a chance to properly meet."

"That's quite all right, Captain," said Victoria. She pushed her glasses further up her nose. "And I'm settling in well, thank you."

"Great. Good to know. Lieutenant Homer's been telling me about your research," he glanced down at the glass dish, his curiosity genuine. There was a pile of dust on it. He raised an eyebrow. "That looks fascinating."

Victoria snorted. "It's more fascinating under a microscope," she told him, sitting back down and opened her PADD. "I was just coming to find you," she told Homer, handing him the tablet. "I've got something you should see."

Homer nodded, looking through whatever was on her screen. Victoria waited patiently, giving Jim a look that clearly asked him what he thought he was doing. Jim pretended not to notice and merely grinned.

Homer cleared his throat when he was done reading. "Permission to be dismissed, Captain?"

"Of course," Jim raised his eyebrows as the man practically ran from the room. "What the –"

"He's gone to tell Commander Spock we're heading into an asteroid maze in less than six hours and to prepare evasive maneuverers so the ship doesn't crash," said Victoria. She almost sounded bored.

Jim's eyes almost bugged out of his head. _"What?"_

Victoria shrugged. "I told him there was a possibility the debris were from two asteroids that had crashed together further ahead of us because of the varying make-up of the dust, but he didn't take me seriously. He's very convinced that little germs living on bits of rock are more important than keeping the ship whole," she rolled her eyes. "I _told_ you demoting me was a mistake."

Jim gaped at her. "Do I even want to know how you figured that out?"

"I'm good at my job," said Victoria simply. "You might want to get to the bridge, Captain. You can finally have some fun now."

Jim felt like Christmas had come early. "You want to come watch?" he offered. At her look of hesitancy, he tried wheedling. "I bet you want to see the look on Spock's face when I tell him you came up with the theory that there was a maze _weeks_ ago."

Victoria's lips twitched. "I'll race you."

 **!**

 _"Bones!"_

McCoy sighed and opened his comm. "McCoy here. What is it, Jim?"

 _"We've got possible asteroid debris coming up ahead in the next few hours, you ready to have some fun?"_

He wanted to punch someone. "What part of hurtling through nothingness with rocks that could break through your only source of oxygen is _fun_ for you, kid?"

 _"That's the spirit!"_ Jim was almost cheering. _"You want to come to the bridge and watch Sulu kick some ass?"_

"Damn it, man, did you comm to invite me to watch a ride to the death?"

 _"It was one of the reasons,"_ replied Jim joyfully. _"Just thought I ought to tell you there's a possibility you'll get some injuries because of the ride, the wonderful Dr. Woodville has estimated we need to switch to manual to pilot through this."_

McCoy's eyes pricked up at the name. "Dr. Woodville, eh? Is he behind this?"

 _"Woodville's the resident geosciences genius, yes, Bones."_

He rolled his eyes. "I'll pass on watching, I've got a medbay to run here. Enjoy yourself and don't get us killed."

 _"That's the plan. Kirk out!"_

McCoy put down his PADD, curiosity piqued. He had seen Woodville's file. In addition to massive injuries sustained in the collapse of the Yorktown plaza, the man had a series of older injuries dating back to the fleet's time in the Laurentian system during their own showdown with Nero. He had heard stories about the medical practices that had taken place on those ships, and that's what had made him wary in the first place. Woodville's injuries were too unique, too goddamn _awful_ for him not to be flagged in the systems as a danger to fly out into space. McCoy had run the name himself through databases twice. Though each time he had come up clean, but the niggling curiosity in the back of his mind was getting annoying.

Giving up, McCoy pushed himself away from his desk and strode out of his office purposefully. He made a beeline towards Nurse Riley as soon as he spotted her familiar blonde head.

"Doctor," she nodded respectfully, looking up from her PADD with her usual, bright smile. "What can I do for you?"

McCoy leaned against the wall next to her and took a deep breath. "Tell me everything you know about Dr. Woodville."


	14. Chapter 14

**Thirteen**

 _Routine physical examination at 0900 hours tomorrow._

Victoria narrowed her eyes suspiciously, opening the attached document that had arrived with the mass message that had gone out that morning. She scanned the names quickly, automatically going to the _M_ s and only pausing when she realized her _new_ name would be closer to the bottom. Her heart nearly stopped beating when she saw that the initials scrawled next to her name meant her attending physician would be Dr. Leonard McCoy.

"No way in hell," she muttered. She rushed to the computer on the wall and punched in Jim's access codes again, ignoring the stab of guilt she felt. She scanned the duty roster, and saw to her relief that McCoy was off shift for a few more hours. She tapped her comm. "Woodville to Nurse Riley."

 _"Nurse Riley,"_ said the bright, but professional voice at the other end.

Victoria took a deep breath to steady her voice. "Hi, Nurse Riley, it's Natira."

 _"Hi!"_ Nurse Riley sounded chipper as always. _"What can I do for you? Your hypos aren't until day after tomorrow, you know."_

"Oh, yeah, I know," Victoria tried to make her tone friendly. "I was just going through my messages and I saw that I'm down for a routine physical tomorrow?"

 _"Yeah, Dr. McCoy yelled at us and said that it should have been done the first week in,"_ Nurse Riley laughed. _"I'm still working out some of the kinks thanks to scheduling conflicts. Have you got a problem too?"_

"Yeah, unfortunately," said Victoria, thinking quickly. "I, umm, I'm working on something at the lab and I can't leave it unattended for very long. Is Dr. McCoy in the medbay right now? I could come by and –"

 _"He isn't here for another few hours, but if you're worried about your physical you can come down now and I can get Dr. M'Benga to do it,"_ offered Nurse Riley. _"It'll still count, attending physicians are only for serious injuries and shift timings anyway."_

Victoria pumped her fist in the air triumphantly. "Thank you _so_ much, Nurse Riley, that would be a major help."

 _"No problem, I'll tell Dr. M'Benga to expect you in a few minutes!"_

Victoria shut off her comm, taking in a deep breath. Now all she had to do was convince M'Benga to keep a secret.

But not necessarily an accurate one.

 **!**

"Lieutenant Woodville?"

Victoria didn't miss the surprise that underlined the man's tone as he poked his head into the exam room. She smiled cautiously, well aware of the part she had to play. Tilting her head to the side, she held her hands up in surrender. "Guilty."

"Ah," M'Benga glanced down at the PADD in his hand, one eyebrow going up as he read over whatever was written on it. "And the N stands for…?"

"Natira," said Victoria, holding out her hand for the doctor to shake. "I can totally explain, Doctor."

"I bet you can," M'Benga shook his head smilingly. "Give it to me straight, Lieutenant."

"I know Dr. McCoy," said Victoria carefully. M'Benga raised her eyebrows, and she forced herself to turn slightly pink. "It was supposed to be a one-off thing," she muttered. "I just think it would be awkward to do this with him."

"No need to be so uncomfortable," said M'Benga, his comforting tone unexpected. He smiled at her. "You'd be surprised how many people reschedule appointments and check-ups because of flings that they'd rather forget about. I know you're new around here, but don't worry about it. McCoy's a pain in the ass and a stickler for the rules," he told her, entering the room finally and closing the door behind him. "But I've been a doctor longer, and I don't really care either way. As long as you're not messing with any treatments, I'll save you from any potential awkwardness."

Victoria shook her head. "I take my meds and everything, and I know Dr. McCoy is the one who handles my case. I just think _this_ would be more trouble than it's worth."

"I see," with the non-judgemental attitude common to doctors that Victoria had always taken for granted, M'Benga came to sit on the chair next to her. "So, you called Nurse Riley and asked if I could do it instead?"

"Something like that," Victoria attempted a shamefaced smile. "I totally understand if it's putting you in a tough situation."

M'Benga shrugged. "A patient's a patient, Lieutenant. But I suppose this does explain his curiosity with you," he said conversationally, picking up his PADD again to begin filling out the physical report. "Your name threw him off, I think."

"My mom's maiden name," said Victoria, thinking quickly. "My dad and I aren't the closest."

M'Benga smiled sympathetically. "Right, well since I've just reassigned your physical to myself, we are now bound by a confidentiality agreement, which means I can't tell McCoy anything you tell me," her look of genuine relief made him chuckle. "Shall we get this over with?"

Victoria was ridiculously grateful that the medical file M'Benga had pulled up showed that she had a foreign implant in her leg, which would lead to askew readings on any tricorder that attempted to scan her body. Technically, it was true, even though no file on her actually stated _what_ the implant did. In her experience, doctors rarely questioned it - more and more humans were born and brought up on foreign planets, and not all doctors were well-versed in the medical practices that took place there. Natira Woodville was born on a Federation planet a few lightyears from Earth, where implants of a similar nature were common to repair birth defects, which was what her leg injury had been explained away as for years. Accordingly, the tricorder was put aside and M'Benga took a blood sample to run some quick tests, which were clear. Another examination of reflexes and a few pointed questions showed that, on the outside at least, she was in perfect health. If Dr. M'Benga was suspicious about her time in the Laurentian system and on Yorktown, and her injuries from there, he didn't question it. Twenty minutes later when Victoria left the medbay with a relieved smile on her face, she was too distracted to notice McCoy watching her from the door of his office, his eyes narrowed suspiciously. M'Benga came up to stand next to him, an amused smile tugging at the corner of his mouth.

"What did she tell you?" asked McCoy flatly.

M'Benga shrugged, still smiling. "Confidentiality, Leonard."

He groaned. "Damn it, Geoffrey."

"You could just ask her."

"I have no idea who the hell this woman is," snapped McCoy. "But I know I've seen her before, and I want to know what the hell Jim and Spock are up to."

"You should already know the reason she's avoiding you," said M'Benga. "That's all I can say. You want to tell me how you knew she would call Nurse Riley and try to get someone else to do her physical?"

"I had a feeling," McCoy ran a hand through his hair tiredly. "Damn it, man, I don't have _time_ for this!"

"You sure you don't remember her?" why did M'Benga's tone sound faintly disapproving? "How could you forget a face like _that?"_

"I have no idea," said McCoy, his eyes still fixed on the spot where Victoria had been standing moments ago.


	15. Chapter 15

**Fourteen**

"Are you sure you don't want to do the brief, Lieutenant?" asked the young science officer desperately. "Lieutenant Homer says you were the one who discovered the planet."

"I helped," Victoria smiled flatly and indicated the PADD lying between them. "Read it again, Emma. We have to get going in a few minutes."

"I'm really not comfortable doing this," persisted Emma. "Are you _sure?_ People kill for this chance, you know. The entire bridge crew's coming, and Captain Kirk is really excited about it."

"This is a routine explorer mission, Emma, I'm hardly letting you handle a presentation on Klingon war tactics," Victoria rolled her eyes. "You need to learn, and this is the perfect opportunity."

Emma nodded, still reluctant. As she perused Victoria's detailed notes, Victoria herself scanned through the checklist she had made. The mission was indeed supposed to be routine – they'd encountered a planet soon after Victoria's warning about the asteroid maze, and the preliminary scans had revealed there were no living organisms present, due to the 8.5 magnitude earthquakes that would strike the surface every few hours. Initially, they had decided that was enough evidence to back off, but Lieutenant Homer had noticed a glitch after they'd been monitoring the planet for three days: for every six hours of seismic activity, there would be at least four of relative normalcy. The readings had further been overseen by Spock and a team – Victoria included – and they had come to the reluctant decision that, in those few hours of stability, the planet would be safe for landing. A scouting team had been assembled soon after to go down and collect samples for further analysis, but when Victoria had found out that Jim would be one of the people going down, she had tried very hard not to faint.

Instead, Victoria had thrown herself into preparing a mission brief, trying to keep it as detailed as possible to ensure nothing would catch them off guard. She had picked Ensign Emma Johnson to handle the presentation, since she knew perfectly well she couldn't stand up in front of half the _Enterprise_ and expect to remain under the radar. And Emma was an excellent scientist, with an eye for detail and complete confidence when she was in a lab. But apparently, she had none of those things when it came to public speaking.

"Lieutenant?" Homer poked his head into the lab. "Are you ready to go? The scouts and away team are ready for you."

"Emma, are you ready?" asked Victoria kindly. Emma gulped, but nodded anyway. Standing up, Victoria gathered up her PADD and gestured for the ensign to precede her out the door. As she followed, Homer fell into step beside her.

"You aren't handling the brief?" he asked curiously.

"Nope," Victoria patted her hair to make sure her bun was still in pace, and readjusted her glasses self-consciously. She hadn't been in front of so many people since she'd started on the _Enterprise;_ she was equal parts terrified and almost curious as to how her disguise would play out. "Emma is perfectly capable, and she needs to learn."

"It is pretty routine," Homer shrugged. "It's probably safe to let her learn on something that has less chances of going wrong."

"I agree," they reached the meeting-room, and Victoria inclined her head slightly. "I think I'll sit at the back, make sure Emma doesn't have too many eyes on her so she doesn't get uncomfortable."

"Ah," Homer nodded. "Good plan. I'll sit up front and try to be supportive."

Victoria nodded and headed into the room, passing Hannity, who gave her a grin, and Uhura, who winked. She smiled at both women and headed for the back of the large room, which was set up with a projector and a large desk at one end, and chairs facing it until the other end. She headed for the last row immediately, sinking into a chair and making sure no one was giving her any odd looks. She was slightly relieved when she saw the back of Jim's head seated right at the front, next to someone with a set of distinctly familiar set of broad shoulders. Clearly, Dr. McCoy spent a lot of time in the gym when on the ship.

"Dr. Woodville," came a flat voice from next to her. Victoria jumped as Spock sat down in the seat beside her.

She cleared her throat. "Hello, Commander."

Spock inclined his head slightly. "I have noticed that you chose Ensign Johnson to deliver the mission brief."

"That is correct."

"Do you intend to use this as a learning experience for her?"

He sounded about as accusatory as a Vulcan could get. Victoria immediately felt herself go on the defensive. "It is the least dangerous way to do it, so yes."

"It is an intelligent decision," Victoria was sure she wasn't imagining the slight reluctance in Spock's voice as he complimented her. "Lieutenant Uhura tells me you and she are now acquainted."

Victoria snorted. "Yes, we're _friends_ , Commander."

"You make friends very easily."

"And with that tone, you clearly don't," Victoria gave him a fake smile. "I need to go over my notes for Emma. Excuse me."

She stood up and stomped away, heading for the seat furthest from Spock and closest to the door. Pointedly, she sat down and stared straight ahead, making no move to open any notes like she'd told him. She knew Spock didn't like having her on the ship, but every time he encountered her it was _annoying_ how self-righteous he acted, as if the very fact that he disapproved of her being there acquitted him of all blame, and _she_ should be the one feeling guilty for causing trouble in the first place.

Victoria hated how she thought he was right.

 **!**

"We should reach the planet by tomorrow morning."

Victoria raised her eyebrows. "That sounds like an invitation."

Jim shrugged. "You know you have an open invite, Tori."

Victoria gave him a suspicious look over her forkful of vegetables. "That's nice. What do you want?"

Jim grinned unashamedly and pushed his already empty plate away from him. They were having dinner in her quarters – from the synthesiser, which Victoria despised – and he had been slyly hinting at the coming mission for over an hour. Victoria had dismissed it every time with an indulgent smile. Jim was excited, and she liked how he looked like a child again when he was animated about something. She would gladly discover a hundred planets if it kept him out of the dark mood she'd found him in when they'd met on Yorktown. But she drew the line at _accompanying_ him there.

"I want you to give up this guilt-ridden attitude and come on the mission," said Jim simply.

Victoria narrowed her eyes. "What guilt-ridden attitude?"

"The face you make every time I see you is the face _I_ used to make every time I saw you," Jim rolled his eyes. "I know that look, Tori. It's gratitude. Why the hell are you acting like showing your face anywhere will get me killed?"

"Because it could!" she snapped.

"It _won't,"_ he snapped back. "I'll kill that son of a bitch before he gets near this ship _or_ you, Tori. You know that!"

"It isn't that simple," Victoria stood up, her hands shaking as she felt the inexplicable urge to shoot something. She ran a hand through her hair as she turned her back on Jim, looking out the window determinedly. "This is my decision, Jim. I will work on your ship and do all the menial tasks Spock sends my way, I will answer to that well-meaning but incompetent Homer, and I will accept pity invites from you and Hikaru and Nyota, but I will _not_ put you in any more danger than I already have."

Jim sighed. "Tori, we're _not_ –"

"No," she shook her head firmly. "Not this time, kid. Trust me, okay? This is the safest way."

"Is that why Bones can't know?" asked Jim suddenly. "You're afraid you'll put him in danger?"

"Dr. McCoy shouldn't know just like Chekov or Scotty or anyone else shouldn't know," said Victoria evenly. "I barely know the man, Jim."

"You liked him."

"What does that have to do with anything?" Victoria spun around to face him in surprise. "Jim, I'm not sixteen! Whether or not I have feelings for a man is _not_ as important as keeping people alive and you know it. I'm not going to give up everything I've worked so hard for, just for a whirlwind romance. Not again."

Jim sighed. "Okay, you win. Don't come down with us. But promise me you'll think about letting him in on it, Tori. Keeping this secret is killing me."

Victoria bit her lip. "I'm sorry," she offered weakly. "I can't be responsible for any more people, Jim. I've got enough to worry about."

"Okay, don't get sad," and just like the ten-year-old boy he truly was, Jim approached her hastily and gave her a quick hug when he sensed she was getting upset. "Don't worry about it. We'll work it out, okay? Tell me about the planet," he gestured to the PADD on her desk. "You got everything you need?"

Victoria squeezed his arm, appreciating the change of subject. "I'll be watching you like a hawk the whole time."

"Just like old times," Jim grinned.

"What would you do without me?"

Jim snorted. "We never would have realized the planet was nearby without you, Tori."

"No, you probably wouldn't have," smirked Victoria. "But I'm still not coming. I'm a scientist, Jim. Not a dare-devil."

Jim groaned. _"Fine_. Want to head to the bridge now?"

"I'm telling you now that there is a big chance that the earthquakes could cause more craters to form on the surface," warned Victoria. Gathering up her PADD and a few loose papers with notes on them, she opened the door and led the way towards the bridge. "I told Homer that, but he calculated that if we land within the week we might be able to avoid the worst of them. I still think it's a bad idea for you to go down first."

"I can't send my scouts down and expect them to die for me," said Jim, in a tone that made Victoria bite her lip. "I know you think Homer's an idiot, Tori, but he's pretty good with numbers. We should be okay."

"I still want Spock to take a look at the new numbers, Jim."

"His statistics only freak everyone out," dismissed Jim. "You're becoming too paranoid."

"I just –"

"Tori," his voice was gentler now. "Don't worry, okay? I'm not a kid anymore."

Victoria huffed. "You will _always_ be a kid, Jim."

"Only to you," playfully, he tugged on a loose tendril of her hair. "Don't sweat it, okay? I'll answer all your comms faithfully."

"If there's a major earthquake you won't be able to get a signal!"

"Then I bet you'll be relieved when I do answer," Jim winked. They entered the turbolift and shot upwards. Victoria tapped her fingers against the screen of her PADD nervously, but the bridge was too busy for anyone to pay her much attention. Even Chekov, who always kept an eye out for Jim's entrance onto the bridge, didn't notice them until Jim had sat down on his chair.

"Captain on the bridge!" he shouted out over the din, but only a few people seemed to hear him. Victoria made her way to where Spock was examining the latest readings from the planet, nodding at his greeting as he began to explain the various radiation points and what he wanted her to watch out for while he was gone.

"Your concern for our safety is quite obvious, Doctor," he said finally, when he saw that Victoria's incessant tapping was not stopping anytime soon. "I would suggest you keep it to a minimum so the rest of the away team does not think we are leading them to their deaths."

"I have faith that none of you will die, Commander," said Victoria immediately. She winced at how unconvincing she sounded. "Not on my watch, at least. But if you could just take a look at the numbers –"

"Lieutenant Homer has informed me that he has rechecked them twice, and everything seems to point to a safe landing and departure," interrupted Spock, and his tone made Victoria narrow her eyes. "Please see to your designated tasks, Lieutenant."

The shift from "Doctor" to her rank – which made Spock her superior and thus made any orders he gave her sound all the more important – did not go unnoticed by Victoria. She folded her arms across her chest. "Okay, _Commander_ , let's get one thing straight. Having me on the ship freaks you out, doesn't it?"

Spock didn't even bat an eye. "I do not believe I have ever said that, Doctor."

"Save it for someone who actually believes it," cut in Victoria. "You're scared shitless because my being here could put you all in danger, and don't think I don't know that. I am doing everything in my power to ensure you are all safe, but I would appreciate it if you stopped punishing me for being here."

"I am allowing you to work in my department with a good deal of freedom," said Spock coldly. "I would not say that counts as punishment."

Victoria snorted. "You're letting me tinker around with assignments that are so below my level of intelligence it is insulting. I predicted the asteroid maze, I identified the location of the planet, but even now I'm referring to _your_ judgement on the seismic readings because I don't trust Homer and I think you're smarter than him."

"Everyone on this ship thinks I am _smart,_ Lieutenant, that does not mean I double-check the work of everyone in every department."

Victoria threw her hands up in exasperation. "You know what? Fine. When an earthquake hits and you're all stuck under god only knows how many tonnes of rubble, _then_ don't complain."

"There will be no time for complaining as the rubble would crush our skulls upon impact, Lieutenant."

Victoria almost spat in her rage as Spock walked away from her.


	16. Chapter 16

**Fifteen**

"Lieutenant?"

"What?" snapped Victoria, unable to hide her irritation.

Someone cleared their throat behind her, and she turned away from the numbers she was watching like a hawk, only to see Hikaru looking at her with raised eyebrows. She coughed. "I mean, yes?"

Hikaru inclined his head to the side slightly. "You're welcome to take a break. Lieutenant Homer has volunteered to monitor the seismic activity until Beta shift."

"I don't think –" began Victoria, but Hikaru cut her off smoothly.

"Excellent, coffee you say? I'll join you." And he began to lead her out amidst the influx of people that suddenly came onto the bridge, clearly for the incoming shift change.

Victoria was too confused to argue, and they were in the turbo lift when she was finally able to turn to him, arms folded across her chest accusingly. "What was that?" she demanded.

Hikaru rolled his eyes. "Jim said to make sure you actually got some sleep while they were planet-side."

Victoria huffed. "Can't a person be worried without dealing with an intervention?"

"Not on this ship," Hikaru smiled as they began their walk towards the mess hall. "Come on, I'll even show you where they keep the good coffee."

"There's good coffee?"

Hikaru rolled his eyes. Victoria stuck out her tongue, following him with reluctant curiosity towards the storage room where there were a few people milling about, none of whom looked up in surprise when they came in. Smirking at Victoria, he indicated a corner of the pantry piled high with crates of dehydrated vegetables, and motioned for her to look behind the boxes. Giving him a look, she did, and almost squealed at what she saw.

"You have _this,"_ she turned to him reproachfully. "And you never told me?"

"We got this after Yorktown," said Hikaru, smiling at her excitement as he made his way towards the old-fashioned coffee machine. "Dr. McCoy had it installed. When he's not in medbay, he's normally here. I didn't think you'd want to run into him."

Hikaru didn't miss the way Victoria's smile had faltered slightly when he said McCoy's name, nor could he ignore the way she busied herself with an empty coffee mug, trying to avoid his eyes. "I think I'd have risked blowing my cover for some good coffee," she said, but the playfulness was gone from her tone.

Hikaru waited until she had made herself a mug, then sat down on an upturned crate next to her and patted her back reassuringly. "They're going to be fine, Tori," he said quietly. "You're one of the smartest people I know, you _know_ they're going to be okay," Victoria waved away his words, but he persisted. "What is this about? You know you can tell me."

"Of course I can," said Victoria immediately. Her shoulders slumped. "I'm sorry, Hikaru. It's just I have a bad feeling, and it's impossible to shake. The last thing I wanted was for Jim to go down there alone."

"You've felt responsible for him since you were a teenager, but he's a grown man now and he makes his own decisions," Hikaru's wise words had always made Victoria smile. There was no one better suited for her scatter-brained and slightly immature brother, after all. "He thinks the world of you, you know."

Victoria blinked. "He does?"

Hikaru nodded, smiling at Victoria's changed demeanour. "Spock agreed to let you on the ship after what Jim told him, about what you did for him when he was a kid."

Victoria looked away, a blush creeping up her neck. "I've done countless things for him when he was a kid," she shrugged, trying to play it off.

"He specifically mentioned the stolen car incident."

"Ah," she sipped her coffee. "I remember that day."

"You're a hero to him," Hikaru smiled. "I think he wants you to see he's a hero too. To the people on this ship, at least, Jim's pretty damn incredible."

Victoria smiled. "But to me, he'll always be the little boy who cried if I put him down for a nap alone, Hikaru."

"He won't cry if you let him be on his own this time, Tori, I promise."

Victoria sighed. "I hope not."

 **!**

"It's been forty-eight hours."

"I am aware of that, Lieutenant."

"Are you also aware –"

"– that six earthquakes have hit the surface of the planet since our team went on the ground? _Yes,_ Lieutenant, I am."

"Then why the hell are they still there?"

"Woodville!" Victoria groaned as Homer came up behind her. "Here, now," he snapped. Without argument, Victoria followed him to a corner of the bridge, away from the science officer who clearly wanted to strangle her. To her surprise, the look of annoyance on Homer's face vanished when they were alone, replaced by one of worry. Instead of speaking, he shoved a PADD at her. "What do you make of that?" the man was practically biting his nails with fear.

Eyes narrowed, Victoria did a quick scan of the charts in front of her. Her heart practically stopped. "This cannot be happening."

"I know, right?" said Homer. He sounded as though he was going to be sick. "But what if it is?"

Victoria shook her head. It _couldn't_ be true, but there was no other explanation. Out of the sixteen people who had gone down to the surface, only three still had active tracking devices. It was rare for a tracking device to be destroyed even if a ship crashed mid-warp, so a few tumbles through the ground during a quake wouldn't cause much damage. Vital signs for all personnel were also fluctuating rapidly, which was never a good sign. Victoria's quick analysis told her they couldn't even pinpoint who to save or where to go. It was clear that the team were either very deep underground where the signal couldn't reach, or possibly all dead or dying. Neither scenario was appealing. "You need to send someone down there."

"I can't," Homer was shaking now. "The Captain said if none of them made it back then we had to fly out because it wouldn't be safe to stay in one place for too long. But we can't leave them behind."

Victoria paled. She knew why Jim had said that. It wouldn't be safe for them to stay because of _her._ Because it would be possible for someone to zone in on her location, and then they'd all be screwed. What an idiot. How _dare_ he try to protect her when she was –

"Woodville?" Homer was still talking. Victoria snapped out of her daze and focused on him again. "What should we do?"

He was asking _her_ for help? Victoria frowned, her terror momentarily forgotten. "How am _I_ supposed to know?"

"Because you're better at this than I am," said Homer honestly. "I don't know why you're not my superior officer, I really don't, and I'm not too proud to ask for help. Can you think of _anything_ we can do?"

Victoria glanced at the charts again. There was one option, but if it went wrong they were all screwed. Then again, if it went right, she'd make damn sure Jim Kirk was still alive. It was an easy choice. "We have twelve hours before the next scheduled quake strikes, right?"

"Right."

"And we can have a shuttle ready in three?"

"Two. Scotty always keeps a few prepared in case of emergencies."

"Okay," she nodded. "That gives us roughly nine hours on the surface, even if we leave immediately before the quake."

"We?" Homer gulped.

Victoria didn't look up from the screen. "You're staying here. I'll go down with another team," she handed him back the PADD with an expectant look. "I can fly the shuttle. Can you get me a crew of seven?"

Homer nodded. "Aye. What will you do till then?"

Victoria winced. "I need to have a chat with Uhura and Sulu."

 **!**

"This is a terrible idea," hissed Hannity.

"Is this even sanctioned?" asked M'Benga.

"No ship can land on that kind of terrain!" snapped Scotty.

"I don't think –" began Homer, but Victoria was already striding past them all, deep in conversation with Sulu, who seemed to be trying to convince her how terrible of an idea it really was. She was listening to him politely, but she was clearly not going to take his advice.

"Tori, it's suicide," persisted Sulu. "You can't be serious!"

"I'm very serious," was Victoria's calm response. She turned to Homer. "Did you get me a crew?"

Homer nodded, even as Scotty took over for Sulu and planted himself in front of Victoria, blocking her path. Victoria didn't even blink, merely sidestepped him and reached for one of the ground team uniforms that Homer was handing out.

"Yer all gonna go down into the ground if yer not careful, lassie!" persisted Scotty as Victoria pulled the suit over her head. "One wrong move –"

"I'm a geoscientist, Scotty, I know what I'm getting myself into," sighed Victoria. She patted his hand reassuringly. "Just focus on what I asked, yeah? Keep an eye on the transporter room and beam up anyone once you get a signal."

"How will I get a signal through all that _shit_ anyway?"

Victoria smirked. "That's my problem. Are you guys ready to go?" she turned to the people Homer had assembled, doing a quick headcount. She spotted two security officers with Hannity, along with Dr. M'Benga and two other scientists whom she knew were cleared for away missions. She got a few nods in response, and indicated for Homer to lead the way to the shuttle.

"I have a question," said M'Benga. Victoria raised an eyebrow at him, gesturing for him to walk with her. He folded his arms across his chest. "Is _any_ of this allowed?"

"Allowed by whom?" asked Victoria, already flicking through something on her PADD.

M'Benga jogged to keep up with her. "Captain Kirk? McCoy? Hell at this point I'd even take Spock's approval!"

"Since none of them are currently showing as active life-forms, doctor, I'd say getting their permission for a rescue mission would be a little difficult, wouldn't you?"

M'Benga gulped. "None of them?"

Victoria fought to keep her tone factual. It wouldn't do any of them good if she went hysterical like Homer was no doubt about to end up. "Captain Kirk's signal is weak, but by far the strongest out of them all. He was last monitored heading in the opposite direction of their shuttle, which leads me to believe he thinks he has a chance at saving someone," they entered the shuttle, and took their seats. Victoria went to the pilot's side without hesitation, and was only faintly surprised when M'Benga sat next to her as co-pilot. She flipped a few switches and watched the engine power up. "Of course, I'm hoping we can get to them all before he does something stupid," M'Benga didn't speak. Victoria flipped another switch. "Can you hear me, Uhura?"

"Loud and clear," came Uhura's voice. "You know this is a terrible idea, right?"

Victoria rolled her eyes. "You want your boyfriend back or not?"

"That is beside the point," said Uhura matter-of-factly, but Victoria remembered the terror on her face when she had shown her the readings from the planet's surface. "Jim is going to kill you for this."

"Yeah, well, I need to kill Jim first for making me do this," Victoria tapped a few keys. "Can I count on you to make sure my comm doesn't die on me?"

"If you keep it to the level we discussed, I'll keep you online."

"Not below seven thousand feet, yeah. Anything else?"

"No, if I can catch your signal I should be able to get Scotty to beam up whoever is with you even if they haven't got a tracker on them."

"Great," Victoria flipped off the communication switch and ran a hand through her hair tiredly. "You ready to go on an adventure, Dr. M'Benga?"

"You going to tell me who you really are first?" M'Benga's voice was so low, so knowing that Victoria let her guard down for a spilt second, and her eyes flashed to him incredulously. He didn't even blink. "I'm not stupid, kid. Does Jim know you're an imposter?" Victoria didn't answer, keeping her eyes glued to the screen in front of her. The engine reached full power, and she exited the hangar with slightly more force than necessary. M'Benga grunted as he was pushed back into his seat with the pressure of her acceleration. "Knock it off, Woodville. I don't care what your situation is, I've kept myself alive on this ship by keeping my nose out of other people's business. But McCoy's my friend, and a damn good doctor, so I'm going to break my rule here. What do you know about him?"

Victoria huffed. "I'm not trying to kill McCoy, M'Benga, sheesh! Are you crazy?"

"I meant what do you know about him _now,_ " grumbled M'Benga. When Victoria opened her mouth, he held up a hand. "If you say you have no idea I won't believe you. That story you fed me was a load of bull, one look at McCoy's face when he spotted you leaving medbay was enough to tell me there's something going on. You're not an old flame of his, so you can tell me _that_ story, or you can tell me this one."

Victoria glared at him, but knew when she was beaten. "Dr. McCoy's signal is somewhere in the opposite direction of Jim's," she said reluctantly. "I think they split up into two different groups, and when the quake struck the trackers either got damaged or they're too deep underground for us to get a signal. Jim wears his here," she indicated her shoulder. "There's always less of a chance of it breaking since the neck would cushion it."

"McCoy keeps his up his sleeve," said M'Benga. "All medics do. If our hands or arms break we're as good as useless anyway, so we always keep them safe."

Victoria winced. "Dr. McCoy's fluctuates, but I've got Homer sending me updates of their locations so we can track them. Spock's is very difficult to pinpoint, Homer thinks he may have fallen into a deeper chasm, which is why I wanted people with experience in this kind of terrain. When we get to the ground, we need to split up and try to get them all before the next quake."

M'Benga was quiet after that, and Victoria was able to steer for a while in peace. They had just hit the planet's atmosphere when he spoke again. "Your name isn't really Natira Woodville, is it?"

Victoria almost smirked. "You can call me Tori."


	17. Chapter 17

**Hi guys! I was adamant I wasn't going to clog this story up with author notes (if you've read my other fics you'll know I can be a bit ramble-y) but I just noticed we hit 50+ reviews and I wanted to say thank you to everyone who always leaves me their comments, it's very much appreciated! I always reply to reviews individually as well, but I haven't started a new story in a while so it's always exciting when people leave a review. I did want you guys to let me know if you're enjoying the more traditional Trekkie scenes, with all the adventure and rescue missions etc., or if you would prefer we get back to all the juicy character development stuff soon? I never know what people prefer, I'm more of a character and dialogue person myself but I'm enjoying all the action right now, weirdly enough. Let me know what you think: on with the story!**

* * *

 **Sixteen**

"Keep breathin'," said McCoy harshly. "I swear to god, kid, if you even _think_ about dyin' on me now I'll shoot you myself. Got it?"

 _"You're not helping, Bones!"_ yelled Jim through the communicator. His voice was cracking and he sounded more stressed than his friend had ever heard him before. _"Just tell me how to make the damn bleeding stop!"_

"You haven't got a medical kit, Jim, how the hell do I do that?" demanded McCoy. "Just keep pressure on it and try to get Williamson to wake up, he'll be able to assess how bad it is. You still with me, kid?"

 _"Yes, sir,"_ came Ensign Watson's weak voice.

"Good," praised McCoy. "Jim, can you tell me _anything_ else about where you are?"

 _"It's dark and cramped, Bones, I haven't got much else to go on."_

"Is anyone else injured?"

 _"Nothing too damaging. Williamson should be coming to soon, they're saying he hit his head when the quake hit and they fell in the crater. Maybe then he can stitch up Watson here when he's up."_

"Right, and if you stay in one place maybe I can find you," McCoy ran a hand over his face wearily. "Did you find Spock?"

 _"No,"_ Jim sighed. _"Christ, Bones, it took me two hours to even find these guys, and I'm worried we're going to lose Watson."_

"Don't beat yourself up about it. Splitting up was the best chance we had," said McCoy. He squinted up at the sky, trying to gauge how far down he had jumped. "I'm gonna say I'm at least sixty feet below right now and we've still got a signal. You went west, if I head east I might cover ground you didn't and find Spock."

 _"Or you could lose all signal and end up lost in these weird tunnels,"_ retorted Jim. _"I don't have a phaser or even a bottle of water, Bones. What the hell am I supposed to do if I lose the connection?"_

"I'll check in every hundred feet to make sure you can still hear me," said McCoy, already rifling through his pockets. He found his penlight and flashed it around, noting the opening in the crater on his left that looked steady enough to venture into. "I got more equipment on me than you do, Jim, I gotta keep movin' and see who we can find."

 _"If you just try calling the ship again maybe we can –"_

"Long distance coverage is shattered, you know that. I'll talk to you soon, kid. McCoy out."

 **!**

"Splitting up is a terrible idea!"

"Thank you for your input, Dr. M'Benga," Victoria rolled her eyes. "Anyone except the doctor here worried about getting out of the ship?" nobody spoke. "Good. Hannity, M'Benga, Tom, let's go. The rest of you, monitor the quakes and call us as soon as you think something's about to go down. Clear?"

There were some more nods, and Victoria pushed a few buttons near the door, clutching her PADD tightly as the heavy metal slid back slowly to reveal the planet which had gotten them into this mess. Taking a deep breath, she stepped outside.

"According to the scans, we should be okay going for another few miles," said Tom quietly. He was a polite, disinterested science officer, and Victoria was secretly glad Homer had sent him as their terrain expert. He didn't ask questions, and had no problem taking orders. "I can point out the crater we last had the Captain's signal in when we're closer."

"Sounds good to me. Let's go," ignoring M'Benga's look of horror, Victoria gestured for Tom to lead the way. Wrinkling her nose at the dusty air, Hannity followed and Victoria walked with M'Benga.

"You can stop looking like we're on a Klingon colony, doctor," she said pleasantly. "The planet is uninhabited, and all we need to worry about are earthquakes."

"Earthquakes which suck everything into craters over fifty feet deep!" hissed M'Benga. "What if we lose signal?"

"We won't because the next quake isn't for another six hours and I fully plan to find everyone before then."

"Those are Homer's readings," M'Benga narrowed his eyes. "You think he's an idiot."

"I do not," she shook her head. "I just think I'm smarter. Which is why I told Scotty to make sure to beam anyone he can find up in case the scanners on the ship pick up any volatile activity."

"Ah," M'Benga looked slightly less concerned now. "You had a back-up plan."

"My back-up plans have back-up plans, doctor. This isn't my first rodeo."

"You did a lot of away missions on your last ship?"

Victoria smirked. "I am also not an idiot. Why don't you just ask me what you want to know instead of trying to get me to spill something accidentally?"

M'Benga shrugged. "Would you answer me if I asked you directly?"

"Probably not. Try anyway."

"How do you know the Captain?"

Victoria didn't hesitate before answering. "I grew up with him. Is that all?"

"So he's keeping you on the ship as a favour?"

"No, I am fully authorized to be here."

"As Dr. Woodville, or as whatever your real name is?"

Victoria inclined her head slightly. "Now _that_ is a good question." And one she had no intention of answering.

"We're here," called out Tom. Patting M'Benga on the arm, Victoria sped up and caught up with the others, who were both standing on the edge of a large crater in the surface of the planet. There was no natural light available, so Victoria shone her torch into the chasm. Faintly, she made out the rocky ground in the distance.

"Jim?" she called down. Her voice echoed back to her eerily, but there was no response. She sighed. "Tom, what have we got down there?"

"Seventy five feet drop, rock and something that seems equivalent to Earth granite, and there's two tunnels branching off from it," supplied Tom immediately.

Victoria frowned. "What the hell do you mean, tunnels?"

Tom offered her his PADD, pulling up the scans he had taken of the crater while they had been speaking. Victoria examined the images critically. "It looks like the quakes cause craters to form on the surface, and there are tunnels below ground linking all of them together," said Tom. He pointed to a larger one which seemed to be a few miles away. "This crater has two tunnels, and one of them leads directly to this one. We couldn't see them before because the granite-like substance blocks all long-range waves, sound and radio, which is also why we haven't been able to get a signal from anyone down there."

Victoria frowned. "So essentially, this planet has got an underground labyrinth that is also impenetrable?"

Tom nodded. "We can get better scans because we're closer, but this is just my scan from five minutes ago. _This_ is the scan Homer took before we took off, and there's been an earthquake here since," he swiped the images on the PADD, bringing up a new set of graphs. Over her shoulder, M'Benga whistled lowly. Victoria winced. "You see the problem?" asked Tom.

"That doesn't even look like the same planet," said Hannity hesitantly. "What does that mean?"

"These two craters," Victoria indicated the ones at the furthest end of the planet. "These are brand new."

"How is that possible?" demanded M'Benga.

"The only explanation is that the earthquakes cause craters to both form and close up," said Victoria slowly. "But I don't understand the tunnel structure. Do they collapse or do they stay the same?"

"I think they collapse," offered Tom. "The planet's terrain has its own survival instinct. Collapsing tunnels keep the topography soft enough for the formation of new ones."

"So basically," said M'Benga slowly. "Jim could have been down here and taken a tunnel to the closest crater, but because there's been God knows how many quakes since we last had contact with him, he could be _anywhere_ by now?"

"Pretty much," Victoria sighed. "Tom, what are the chances of getting signals down there?"

"Up to a hundred feet should be fine," said Tom, frowning as he surveyed his readings.

Victoria nodded. "So that means short-range communication is possible, but off-planet isn't happening if we're in the crater."

"Affirmative, Lieutenant."

"What about the tunnels?"

"I can guarantee we won't hear from you if you go down there. Signals won't cut through this surface layer," Tom kicked a loose stone. "You'd need to be in a crater with open access to the sky in order to communicate with anyone."

"Okay," Victoria ran a hand through her hair. "We have about five hours before the next quake. How long would it take me to get from this crater to the closest one?"

Tom was typing on his PADD before she'd even finished speaking. "Two hours," he answered promptly.

"And the furthest one?"

"Four hours."

"Okay, you and Hannity stay with me. Dr. M'Benga, please head back to the ship," Victoria reached into her backpack and began to pull out climbing materials. "You two take the crater two hours away. If you find anyone, comm the shuttle and get them to come and get you all out so Scotty can beam you up."

"And what are you going to do?" demanded M'Benga.

"Make a run for the further crater and hope to God I get there before a quake," Victoria replied easily. "I'll go faster if I'm alone. I'll make sure I get in touch with Scotty and get beamed back up as soon as I reach open air."

"That is stupid and reckless," snapped M'Benga. "You should stay here and we should try communicating with the people in those tunnels."

"Uhura is already working on it, doctor. Besides, I'm worried that Spock is trapped in a collapsed tunnel," Victoria was already uncoiling the length of rope that was attached by a hook to her belt. "We'll cover more ground this way. If you stay by the shuttle you can be on-hand in case we need emergency medical aid."

"This is a bad idea," M'Benga said darkly. "You saying you can run all the way there before a quake strikes?"

"Yes," Victoria took out four trackers from her pocket and offered the doctor one. "Put it on, your PADD should sync up and make sure you can keep track of me and the others when we're in the tunnels."

"And if the tracker fails?" demanded M'Benga.

"Let's cross that bridge when we get to it. Hannity, Tom, sync your watches with me," the other two officers hurried over, and Victoria adjusted the dials on her device. "We check in every two hours. If all goes well, you two should have gotten to the first crater and back by the time I reach my destination. With any luck, at least one of us should have found someone, and they'll be able to point us in a better direction. Dr. M'Benga, please head back to the shuttle and make sure you alert Lieutenant Uhura in case you lose track of any signals, vitals or locations, of _anyone_ still on this planet. Are we clear?" she received three terse nods. "Then let's go."


	18. Chapter 18

**Hi all! Thank you for all the lovely reviews last chapter, it was really nice to know so many of you enjoy this story and that you're liking the action-y stuff so far. This is the last chapter BEFORE we actually catch up to the first post of this story, so yes, Tori and Bones are about to meet! Again, I did promise myself I wouldn't clog this one up with ANs but I couldn't resist - we've hit 60 reviews and I'm so happy! Thank you for sticking with me, and stay tuned! xx**

* * *

 **Seventeen**

 _If I ever get back to the surface, I'm going to kill Jim Kirk._

The thought, however satisfying it was, did not make Leonard McCoy feel any better. His head was pounding from the faint light he was forcing his eyes to adjust to, and he was sure he had hurt his shoulder. Or maybe that was just the weight of the medical pack he was slugging around these godforsaken tunnels, hoping to find an injured crew-mate.

McCoy didn't think of himself as an unlucky man, but damn it all to hell if the last year of his life hadn't just been doomed from the start. The five-year mission had been draining even to think about, and in action it had basically nudged him closer to an early grave. Added to that, the whole Yorktown fiasco was something they were _all_ still reeling from – the last thing McCoy wanted was to end up trapped in a labyrinth with no apparent way out and only a damned sense of duty forcing him to keep going on.

"If I had a nickel for every time I decided to do the right thing…" he muttered to himself darkly. Speaking out loud was, unfortunately, a mistake. The dust in the air was thick and while he was studiously ignoring it as he breathed through his nose, he inhaled a decent amount via his mouth as he spoke and developed a coughing fit, the sounds of his choking echoing off the walls in the small tunnel.

When his coughing subsided, McCoy allowed himself the luxury of a few sips of water and began to trudge on. His mind wandered back to the events of the previous day, and he couldn't help but wince again. The mission was supposed to be routine. It was what the damn brief had said, what Spock had said, hell, it was the only reason Jim had been able to wheedle him into coming along. He should have known better than to trust an analysis that Lieutenant N. Woodville had come up with. If he ever got a hold of that man –

 _Woman_. The snide voice in his head was quick to correct him. McCoy scowled. How had he forgotten? Lieutenant N. Woodville was not a he, like the good doctor had assumed, but a _she._ Natira Woodville, it turned out, as Nurse Riley had helpfully told him. She was tall and quiet, with brown eyes and shiny black hair that didn't look real, though McCoy wasn't sure what to make of that since Nurse Riley had made it sound like a compliment. She wore thick-rimmed glasses, usually had on a lab-coat over her uniform because she thought the dresses were too short, didn't talk much, rarely smiled, and kept to herself. She had no friends, though Nurse Riley had seen her chatting to Uhura and sometimes Hannity in-between shifts, and whilst she and Jim had never been seen in public together, McCoy had no doubt that his friend knew _exactly_ who the woman was.

Because even he was more and more convinced that he had seen her somewhere before.

But where? McCoy frowned again. The mystery of Natira Woodville had kept him well- occupied in the week leading up to the mission. He knew he could technically just go up to her and ask her, he _was_ her attending physician after all, but something held him back. Spock's deliberate avoidance of pronouns, Jim's springy step and frequent visits to the science deck, even M'Benga's knowing look after he had done her physical the other day had thrown him off. It was a secret who she was, of that he had no doubt, but why did it feel like it was a secret from _him?_ There wasn't even a picture of her on record – he had tried to find one, but the file was conveniently empty. He had tried to set up a physical to catch a glimpse of her, and when she had come in to get it done by someone else his suspicions had been confirmed. She was avoiding him, but she was also avoiding everyone else on the ship except the few people she seemed to know from before.

It didn't make sense. McCoy couldn't remember the last time a woman had annoyed him so much. In any other circumstance, he knew he would have exploded and punched the information out of Jim, but he kept feeling as though the answer was staring him right in the face. Except he had no idea _what_ it was. She wasn't among his very small list of exes. He had barely dated after Pamela, and a few nights spent with the bartender of a local establishment near the Academy hardly counted. The glance he had caught of her told him she was pretty, at least, but she wasn't breath-taking. Plain, quiet, kept to herself. She was almost invisible in her ordinariness.

And that was what intrigued McCoy the most.

 **!**

 _"Lieutenant, can you hear me?"_

Victoria rolled her eyes and halted in her brisk jog to flip open her communicator. _"Yes,_ Dr. M'Benga. I am alive and well, as you can no doubt see from the tracker I'm sure I'm still wearing."

 _"I'm just making sure you're still here,"_ the doctor didn't sound bashful at all. _"Tom and Hannity checked in yet?"_

"If they don't check in within the next few minutes, I give you full permission to send out a search party," said Victoria wryly. "Now, let me run in peace, for god's sake."

M'Benga grumbled something about insubordination but turned off the comm anyway, allowing Victoria to pause and catch her breath. Almost immediately, her comm beeped. Groaning, she picked up. "What now, M'Benga?"

 _"Lieutenant Woodville?"_ Hannity's voice was calm.

Victoria straightened up immediately. "Yes, Hannity?"

 _"We've found Commander Spock,"_ the forced calm in her voice did not reassure Victoria at all. She began to run again, slightly faster.

"Where is he?" she asked, just as calmly.

 _"A few miles east of the crater. The tunnels were very steep the further we went in, but fortunately he had begun to crawl his way towards the surface, so we didn't have to go far. We managed to carry him back so we could have a signal, and Commander Scott and Ensign Chekov are trying to beam us up now."_

"Is he hurt?"

Hannity hesitated. _"Let's just say I really wish we'd found Dr. McCoy too."_

Victoria bit her lip. "Can I speak to him?"

 _"Of course,"_ there was a pause, and then a smooth voice greeted Victoria. _"Yes, Dr. Woodville?"_

"I don't have time for niceties, Spoke," Victoria wasn't even sorry that she sounded completely uncaring as to his health. "Where's Jim?"

 _"Contact with the surface has reactivated my communicator, and we have managed to get in touch with Captain Kirk, along with three members of the away team,"_ said Spock calmly. Victoria almost tripped with relief. _"However, Dr. McCoy is still missing, as is the rest of the away team."_

Victoria was horrified. "The _rest_ of the team? You split up?"

 _"It seemed like the most logical way to cover ground."_

"How many people did you have?"

 _"It was myself, Dr. McCoy, and Captain Kirk, and we were each accompanied by a security official and a geoscientist."_

"That's four people still missing, Spock."

 _"My companions are with the Captain, as is one of the scientists. We lost connection with the other members of our team when the earthquake hit."_

Victoria rubbed her forehead. "And where was Dr. McCoy?"

 _"He led a third group north of my current position."_

Victoria did a quick calculation in her head, and swore. "I'll never get there before the next quake."

 _"Your best option is to keep going in the direction you are in, and beam up with the Captain and his companions before the next earthquake so we may avoid further casualties."_

Victoria narrowed her eyes. "I'm not letting the others and Dr. McCoy be _casualties,_ Spock."

 _"You must be open to the possibility that they already are, Dr. Woodville."_

"Nice talking to you, Spock," Victoria hung up without saying goodbye and called M'Benga next. "You still on the shuttle, Dr. M'Benga?"

 _"Yeah, why?"_

"Hannity and Tom are getting Spock out, and apparently he's severely injured. Beam back aboard the ship and see if you can help him. Are Jim and McCoy's signals still active?"

 _"Trackers, no, but vitals on Jim are reading fine,"_ M'Benga sounded worried now. _"McCoy keeps flickering but that's more to do with the signal than him."_

"Okay, give me a second," Victoria disconnected the line and hesitated for only a second before making another call. "Woodville to Commander Scott."

 _"Scott here,"_ the Scotsman sounded stressed. _"Don't worry, Woodville, I've got a lock on Spock, now if I can just –"_

"Mr. Scott, listen to me very carefully," Victoria took a deep breath. "You need to beam up everyone on this planet back to the _Enterprise,_ but I need you to beam me back to the last known location that Dr. McCoy's tracker was active at."

 _"What?!"_ Scotty yelled. _"You know beaming across the planet is risky, Woodville, you're the one that pointed it out!"_

"Believe me, I know," hissed Victoria. "But we've got injured crew-members and our CMO is currently MIA, I really can't think of anything else to do."

Scotty huffed. _"You make a good point, lassie, but even if I did what you're asking you'd never make it back in time! And can someone tell me what the hell do I do about the Captain right now?!"_

Victoria's blood ran cold. "What about him? Spock just said he's with the rest of the team in a crater."

 _"Uhura got in touch with him and when he found out McCoy's missing he went off to look for him, didn't he? I've lost him now!"_

Victoria swore. "Please tell me Jim at least knew where he was headed?"

 _"Aye, we've managed to narrow it down to a thirty-mile radius and there are about six craters there, I can keep a watch but the next quake isn't too far away!"_

"I'll take my chances," said Victoria. If there was any doubt in her mind about going to find McCoy, the knowledge that Jim could be in danger cemented her decision. "Get me within the radius and send any data you have to my PADD, put me on a clock and let's hope I make it out on time."

 _"If you say so, lassie,"_ Scotty sounded doubtful. _"Ready when you are."_

Victoria took a deep breath. "Energize."


	19. Chapter 19

**Eighteen**

"Forty feel below and the comms are still working, am I right?"

 _"_ _You got it,"_ Uhura's voice was scratchy, but still coming through the hand-held device that Victoria clutched against her chest. _"Last known readings say you're closer to Jim than McCoy right now, if that helps, but I think they're moving around."_

"I'm not going to be picky about who I punch harder when I see them," said Victoria dryly. "I'll check in again in a few minutes, Uhura. If I don't, please remember you have three hours until the next quake. Don't let Spock leave without us."

Uhura snorted. _"Roger that. Over and out."_

Victoria shoved the comm back into her pocket and edged along the side of the tunnel, keeping her back pressed to the wall gingerly. This was her second crater – fortunately, the thirty mile radius that Scotty had identified had approximately seven craters, all relatively close together, which meant she had thoroughly explored the tunnels branching out of two of them within an hour. She hadn't found McCoy or Jim, but she _had_ found a discarded water bottle and a decompressed bandage container, which meant at least one of them had frequented the tunnel before her. All she had to do was find them, and then rely on her adequate sense of direction to get them out of here. It sounded simple enough.

But it wasn't simple.

Almost as if Fate was playing a cruel joke on her, Victoria heard a sharp _crack_ echo through the tunnel, and reflexively took a step back. Unfortunately, it was the wrong decision, because a large rock that had been lodged in the roof of the tunnel had come loose, and landed with a sickening _thud_ behind her, knocking into her back as it did. Victoria swore and hobbled forward, both out of pain and from the pressure, feeling her knees buckle. She allowed herself to fall and gasped in pain, swatting the dust away from her mouth and quickly trying to assess if she was injured. Her shoulder ached, but the pain in her leg was overpowering everything else; she was sure the rock had either hit a nerve and shocked her system, or the little supplement keeping her leg together had been dislodged. The second option was infinitely worse than the first, but when the pain receded enough for Victoria to be able to stand up and limp a few steps forward, she sighed in relief.

She looked up and glared at the hole in the roof of the tunnel. "Is this karma for lying to an entire ship of innocent people?" she asked rhetorically. "Honestly, all I want to do is save the guy I think is cute and the kid I raised to be reckless. Give me a break, would you?" there was no answer. Victoria snorted. "Okay, fair enough, it isn't exactly an easy task. How do I get myself into these situations?" she asked the empty tunnel in front of her.

Again, there was no answer.

 **!**

McCoy paused, narrowing his eyes suspiciously. He could have sworn he'd heard a voice echoing through the tunnel, but considering the loud _thud_ that had signalled the roof was collapsing in, he didn't think he should push his luck and stick around to be sure. The mission brief hadn't said anything about the tunnels collapsing, but he didn't need to be a geoscience officer to know that was what happened every time a quake hit. His watch was broken and his PADD was malfunctioning, so he didn't know when the next shock was due, but it had to be soon – all he needed to do was get to the surface and try and get in touch with the _Enterprise,_ and then he could focus on murdering Jim Kirk.

The tunnel was fairly straight for a few more feet, so McCoy sped up to a jog and made sure to keep away from the sides of the small passage; previous experience had shown him how fragile the walls were, and one wrong move could cause another collapse that he wasn't prepared for. Of course, Fate absolutely hated his guts that day, because as soon as he made up his mind to stay _away_ from the wall, it crumbled to dust and a figure came tumbling through it, bringing with them a collapsing roof.

McCoy reacted reflexively. The person was clearly from the _Enterprise,_ and the uniform told him it was probably a member of a search party. It was also a woman, and he was sure one of the security officers with Jim had been a brunette. Mentally wondering how on earth this woman had ended up here, he yanked her back roughly and shielded her body with his from the falling debris, conscious of the fact that he had no idea who she was but unwilling to let a fellow officer get injured because he'd wasted time trying to ask her what her name was.

The shower of rocks seemed never-ending, and McCoy swore profusely when he felt the sharp objects hit his back. Nothing would break, but he'd have some painful bruises to deal with later. The woman pressed up against his chest was facing away from him, her dirt-stained hands resting on top of her head as she curled forwards towards the wall. He was close enough to see the side of her face despite the lack of light, and it hit him that she was _very_ familiar, but something about her seemed out of place at that moment.

Finally, the rocks stopped falling and McCoy gingerly took a step back. The woman didn't move, but her tense posture eased slightly, her arms coming down to rest at her sides. She didn't turn around. Scowling, he flashed his penlight at her. "And who the hell are you?" he demanded, not caring that he sounded rude.

Slowly, she turned around, and again the familiarity of her features hit him full force. It was Natira Woodville, dusty and slightly stooped, which was a change from the immaculate woman he'd seen in passing a few times. But her glasses were off, and her hair was piled up in a bun, a single loose curl brushing against the creamy skin of her cheek – McCoy blinked, as she offered him a wan smile and an awkward wave.

"Hey," she said, and her voice was the final piece of the puzzle.

The surprise made him fumble with his penlight, but he managed to keep hold of it, focusing back onto her face to make sure he wasn't seeing things. Sure, he'd found Victoria More attractive and easy to talk to; she made a killer cup of coffee and she had been amazing with his daughter, but it was a little extreme to be imagining this random lieutenant as a woman he hadn't seen in months. Maybe the oxygen was low down here and he was losing his mind, or he'd hit his head…

"Dr. McCoy?" she was talking now, her voice soft and soothing. "Listen, I can totally explain everything, but right now I need to ask you some questions, okay?" when he didn't answer, she seemed to hesitate. "Umm, you do know who I am, right? Victoria More, we met –"

"I know damn well who you are," said McCoy finally. His voice was even gruffer now, because confusion and frustration were not a good mix. "What the hell's going on here? Does Jim know you're pretending to be someone else?"

McCoy expected her to lie or deflect, but she didn't. Victoria didn't even blink. "Yes, he does," she said calmly. "But I would appreciate it if you could stick to calling me Woodville, or Natira, in public. Now, if you could just –"

"Hold on," he held up a hand to silence her, and she stopped talking, though now she was frowning as well. "I've been authorizing a cocktail of hyposprays for someone called Natira Woodville, without ever meetin' her, because Jim ordered me too."

To her credit, Victoria winced. "I can explain that."

"You mean to tell me that was _you?"_ he demanded. She nodded sheepishly. McCoy felt his veins turn to ice. "D'you realize what a medical license is, Victoria?" he was trying very hard not to shout. "I saw that damn file, and none of the shit in it is about _you,_ everythin' from the age to the place of birth is wrong!"

"None of that information impacts your treatment of me!" Victoria protested, but McCoy wasn't listening to her. His head was spinning.

"So you're tellin' me _I've_ been treatin' you for god only knows what, without even doing a basic check-up?" he felt slightly sick. "You know if anything had gone wrong I would have gone to court martial, right? Or you could have _died?_ Hell, I knew Jim was a reckless son of a bitch, but I thought Spock would have the sense to know this is completely unethical, it goes against every vow I took when I became a doctor," the sheer amount of ways he could have killed her, or gotten himself thrown into jail, were endless: hadn't Jim realized what he was getting McCoy into? Groaning, he ran a hand over his face. "Damn it, I knew I shouldn't have –"

"Okay, that's enough!" snapped Victoria finally. McCoy scowled at being interrupted, but she glared right back, so he decided not to speak. "I understand the position you're in and you can be sure I'll apologize to you when we're out of here, Dr. McCoy, but I'm alive, you're alive, and trust me when I say that's all we should be focusing on at this moment. For now, please remember that there's an earthquake coming very soon and we need to keep moving. Not only that, I _also_ need to find that reckless son of a bitch, as you so eloquently called him, and I only have two hours to do it. So learn to multitask and you can yell at me while we walk, okay?"

McCoy paused, his mind focusing on only one part of her speech. "What d'you mean, find Jim? He was with the rest of the away team a few miles back."

"He was, and the rest of the search party found him," Victoria turned her back on him and inched forward, peering through the hole in the wall that she had made when she had practically landed in his arms. "Of course, because he's Jim, he stayed behind to look for you, and then I stayed behind to look for both of you."

"Why the hell would you do that?" asked McCoy. He left the fight leave his body. Jim was missing? That meant a rescue mission, judging from the steel in Victoria's eyes, and McCoy wasn't about to let this woman save his friend alone, not when every judgement call she made seemed to be emotionally motivated, at best, and suspicious at worst.

"Because there was no one else, and no time," replied Victoria evenly.

"Protocol says you don't send someone down here alone as a search party," pointed out McCoy coldly. Despite his tone, he joined her in examining the tunnel. He wasn't going to yell at her, not yet, but that didn't mean he couldn't criticise her. She was clearly insane if she thought she could get away with whatever she was trying to pull.

"I know," Victoria sighed: his tirade against her was getting annoying. She took a step back and looked around. "If you start walking back from here in my tunnel, you'll reach a crater in less than an hour. You can call the _Enterprise_ and get beamed back up from there."

McCoy raised an eyebrow. "And where d'you think you're goin'?"

"This way," Victoria gestured forwards. "We still haven't found Jim."

McCoy snorted. "You're not lookin' for Jim alone."

Victoria narrowed her eyes. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"You know what it means," McCoy shone his penlight into the tunnel, not trusting himself to look at her. She still had hypnotic eyes, even if they were the wrong colour.

"You don't trust me," she didn't sound surprised. Instead, she sounded offended. "You think I'll try to hurt him."

"Can you blame me?"

"I would never hurt Jim," Victoria said flatly. "You can mistrust every word I've said since the day we met, I don't care, but this is different. I practically raised that boy, okay? I've wiped away tears and kissed away cuts and bruises, I went back to Iowa every other month after I got into college just to make sure he was still being taken care of, I've even gotten him out of jail when everyone else thought he deserved it. I've made a lot of bad decisions in my life, Dr. McCoy, but I have always, _always,_ looked out for Jim. Are you, as a parent, trying to tell me you don't know how that feels?"

McCoy stared at her. Her words had caught him completely off guard; Jim had never mentioned how much Victoria meant to him, even though he had figured out they were close. Still, this was different. Jim had never had a real, maternal figure in his life. It had been sorely obvious when they had met, but McCoy had always sensed that, if nothing else, at least the kid was loved. Now he knew why. This woman, who was almost his age, was all he had. And she was looking at him right now as if daring him to argue with her, and her eyes were still wide and, for once, completely open. She wasn't lying.

"Okay," McCoy wasn't convinced, not entirely, but he didn't have time to argue. "Look, I'm not saying I trust you, and I'm not saying I don't trust you. But I'm sticking with you until we find Jim. If he's hurt you're going to need help, and then you _both_ can explain to me what the hell's goin' on here."

Victoria considered his words. Now _that_ was a conversation she wasn't looking forward to. But it was unavoidable: unknowingly, she had decided to let Leonard McCoy in on everything very early on. Now was as good a time as any, especially because it was very clear he didn't trust her. Victoria tried not to think about how her chest had clenched uncomfortably when he had looked at her just then, as if she was some sort of convict that needed to be watched constantly. How long had it been since someone had looked at her like that? She felt a shiver crawl up her spine at the thought.

Shaking her head to expel those thoughts, Victoria looked around once more and then made a decision. "Well, then I think we should just keep heading this way, but we'll use my tunnel instead of yours. If they run parallel it won't make much of a difference, and if not we can always turn back and use this hole as a starting point. We don't have much time," she glanced at her watch and grimaced. "A little over two hours, if we're lucky and the quakes stick to this schedule."

"Sounds good to me," McCoy gestured for her to walk on. "Ladies first." She didn't miss the way his hand was resting casually on his belt, where his phaser was.

Victoria complied quietly.


	20. Chapter 20

**Nineteen**

Victoria had never felt so awkward in her life.

And what was worse, it was awkwardness combined with _guilt,_ which made talking practically impossible for her. She was normally excellent at small talk and all kinds of conversation, but here in a dark, dusty tunnel where she was following Dr. McCoy and a penlight, all her talents failed her. She didn't want to say too much, because she wanted Jim there when she told him the full story of why she was on the _Enterprise,_ but as they walked further through the tunnels she realized maybe it had been a bad idea to keep quiet. Now, she couldn't think of a single thing to say that wouldn't bring up the topic of her false name or fake medical records, which meant that the silence was practically suffocating her.

They had been walking for at least an hour, and by Victoria's calculations they should have been coming upon another crater in the next few minutes. Of course, she hadn't voiced this to Dr. McCoy, because she couldn't think of how to bring it up. So, when his communicator suddenly came to life and let out a high-pitched whine, they both jumped with surprise and McCoy swore. Loudly.

Victoria clicked her tongue in disapproval despite herself, and McCoy gave her a wry smile as they stopped so he could look at his screen. Victoria found herself returning his smile, but it slipped off her face quickly when she heard the voice emitting from his device.

 _"_ _Bones?"_ it was scratchy and faint, but the voice was definitely Jim's. _"Can you hear me?"_

"Yeah, I can," McCoy exchanged a look of relief with Victoria, who motioned for him to keep walking. They sped up to a jog. "Where are you?"

 _"_ _In a crater,"_ the signals were getting clearer with every step. _"But I'm not sure how far I am. Where are you? Did someone find you?"_

"Yeah, someone did," McCoy gave Victoria a look, and she grimaced before holding out her hand for the communicator.

"Jim?" she held it close to her face, trying to hear the faint voice. "Honey, are you okay?"

 _"_ _Tori?"_ Jim sounded confused. _"Uh, I mean, Dr. Woodville, I –"_

"Save it, Jim, I figured something's goin' on," interjected McCoy. Victoria could see Jim run a hand through his hair awkwardly in her mind's eye, and it made her smile. "Just stay put and we'll come get you, we're nearing a crater now."

"We'd have heard him by now if he was here," murmured Victoria quietly so Jim couldn't hear her. "He needs to get beamed up to the _Enterprise._ "

McCoy nodded. "Jim, can you get in touch with the ship?"

 _"_ _I tried, but my long-range signal is shot,"_ replied Jim. _"I'll wait for you guys and we'll beam up together."_

Victoria paled, and McCoy scowled. "Dammit, Jim, how come you don't know where you are? What does your PADD say?"

 _"_ _I don't have it, must have dropped it when I was running to save your sorry ass, Bones."_

"Enough," Victoria spoke firmly before McCoy could retort. "Jim, we'll try and get to you as soon as we can, okay? Just save power right now and wait for my call."

 _"_ _Yes, ma'am. Kirk out."_

McCoy swore again when Victoria switched off the communicator. The shift in the air was obvious – they were only a few feet away from a crater, and there was no indication that Jim was nearby. Victoria tugged at McCoy's arm and they both sprinted for the opening; she knew he was hoping just as much as she was that Jim would be there, by some miracle. When they got there, however, it was very obviously empty.

Victoria immediately shoved the communicator at McCoy and took out her PADD. "Call the ship," she said, eyes glued to her screen. "Get the bridge."

McCoy did as she asked and held up the communicator between them, and Victoria didn't even look up when she heard a calm voice speak. _"Sulu here."_

"Hikaru, open your map," said Victoria. Her fingers were flying across the screen as she spoke. "I'm in the south-east crater, and I've cleared both south-west and the crater sixty-five degrees north from it."

 _"_ _Okay,"_ Sulu still sounded calm. McCoy glanced at Victoria's PADD and saw the map of the terrain she had open, where there were four blue dots and three red dots in various places across the screen. _"I've marked where you've been in red. What do you need me to do?"_

"I need you to get Mr. Scott to use whatever magical powers he has and tell me where Jim is," said Victoria. Her voice was even, but not calm – there was a shrill touch to her tone that made McCoy immediately wary. "There is a quake in one hour and I can't run to four different locations, and we can't beam down in case a quake strikes and someone else gets injured too."

 _"_ _Okay, give me a second,"_ Sulu still sounded as though they were talking about the weather, but McCoy wasn't fooled. The pilot was completely freaked out, he knew it. A few seconds later, another voice came on. _"Scott here._ "

"Find Jim," said Victoria. She still hadn't looked up from the map – McCoy saw that she had another window open next to it, where she was inputting numbers with one hand in a steady stream. He had no idea what she was doing. "I'm shifting signals from my tracker to his so you can narrow down his location."

Oh, so that was what she was doing. McCoy blinked. "How d'you know –"

 _"_ _That is a bad idea!"_ yelled the Scotsman. _"If we lose your signal –"_

Victoria snatched the communicator out of McCoy's hand, her eyes flashing. "For god's sake, Mr. Scott, you know which crater _I'm_ in, beaming me up should only take a second," she snapped. "I don't care if it's not protocol, he's the damn _captain._ "

 _"_ _Calm down, Tori,"_ it was Sulu again. _"Look at your map. We've narrowed the radius, he's in one of two craters. Just let me –"_

"I don't care if he's in one of _three,_ beam him back up onto the ship!"

 _"_ _The seegnal izn't strong enough, he'z damaged hiz trecker!"_ it was Chekov this time. _"Can ve –"_

"Beam me into both craters and use mine," Victoria didn't let him finish. "You have twenty minutes before the next quake, that's plenty of time."

 _"_ _What do you mean?"_ asked Sulu.

"Send me to both craters, one at a time, and use the signal from my tracker to narrow down locations. You can beam him up if I grab him, right?"

 _"_ _Theoretically, yes, but it isn't the best idea,"_ insisted Scotty.

"Why?" demanded Victoria.

 _"_ _Tori, you've been back and forth using the transporter too much, it's not good for you,"_ said Sulu gently. _"We can send someone else, just –"_

"Setting up another tracking device and sending someone down here who isn't familiar with the terrain is dangerous and stupid, Hikaru, we have Jim to make decisions like that, not you," Victoria had shut off her PADD now, and McCoy could see that she had made up her mind. She still hadn't looked at him. "Just do it. Twenty minutes is enough for me to –"

McCoy interrupted her firmly. "I'll take one."

Victoria blinked. "You'll what?"

He grabbed the communicator from her and addressed Scotty. "My tracker's still working. You take one crater, I'll take the other. We'll get him out faster that way."

 _"_ _That's not a bad idea!"_ interrupted Scotty excitedly. _"McCoy's tracker is still working and vitals show you're more tired than he is!"_

"Thanks," muttered McCoy. "Just beam us up, Scotty."

 _"_ _Aye, give me a minute!"_ and the line went dead.

Victoria was giving him a strange look. McCoy caught her eye and raised an eyebrow. "What? Have I got somethin' in my teeth?"

She smiled, but it wasn't at his joke. "Jim always said you hated using the transporter."

"I do," McCoy scowled. "Damn things ain't natural."

"We're in space, Doctor. Most of the stuff we do doesn't fit into the category of _natural._ "

"Yeah, well, either way," McCoy tossed his penlight up into the air and caught it again, suddenly unwillingly to look her in the eyes. She was doing that weird thing where she looked at him with an expression that made it seem like she had just read his mind. She had done it that night they had talked in her house, when she had made him coffee and brownies and he had seriously reconsidered his policy of not sleeping with women he could potentially be friends with. Considering how much he clearly didn't know about this woman, though, he wouldn't be surprised if she somehow _could_ read his mind. "If using that thing is the only way to get Jim out, we gotta do it."

Victoria smiled, and McCoy's communicator beeped, signalling they were ready to go. He scowled again, and she breathed out a short laugh. "Energize," she said.

McCoy shut his eyes immediately and tried to think about something, _anything_ other than the fact that his molecules were hurtling through space at the speed of light. His chest constricted painfully, and he had the sudden urge to throw up: fortunately, it was over in barely a second, and when he opened his eyes he saw that Victoria was making her way off the platform and towards Scotty.

"Here and here," the engineer was saying, pointing to another map open on the console in the transporter room. "We'll send you and McCoy to one each, and the signals from your trackers and Jim's broken one should be enough for me to get a lock on you."

"How long do we have before the next earthquake?" asked Victoria.

"Seventeen minutes," said a voice, and McCoy saw Spock enter the room, hands folded behind her back and a blank expression on his face. "Dr. Woodville, if I may –"

"You may not," Victoria was already heading back to the transporting pad, ignoring the Vulcan completely. She smiled at McCoy slightly, and tossed him another tracker. "It'll double the signal," she said. "Ready to go?"

McCoy clipped the tracker onto his sleeve and glared at the ground. "I hate these things," he muttered, more to himself than Victoria. But she heard him.

"It'll all be over soon," she said reassuringly. "And I'm sure you can opt out of all away missions for the foreseeable future after saving Jim."

McCoy snorted. "I've been savin' him since we were in the Academy. I got made CMO on his damn ship for my troubles."

"Just think about how satisfying it'll be to punch him in the gut when this is done."

"That's what's keepin' me goin'."

Victoria laughed just as Scotty looked up. "Ready?" he asked. They both nodded. "Say the word."

"Energize."

Victoria shut her eyes reflexively, but when they opened and she breathed in the familiar air of the foreign planet, she immediately knew something was off. Her head snapped to the side, trying to see if her suspicions were correct. When her communicator suddenly beeped, she picked it up without looking at the name and held it to her ear. "Did you find him?"

McCoy sounded annoyed. "He's _not here."_

Victoria's eyes widened. "He's not here either!"

 _"_ _D'you think Scotty got it wrong?"_

"I don't know, you know him better than I do!" Victoria ran hand through her hair in frustration. "What the hell do we do now?"

 _"_ _Look around and see if he's left somethin',"_ said McCoy calmly. _"I just landed on a water bottle, and I know Jim dropped one in a crater when I was still with him so we'd know we'd been here before. He might've done the same thing here."_

Victoria scanned the ground quickly, trying to find anything out of the ordinary in the fading light. In her rush to get back to the surface, she hadn't thought to bring a torch with her. Fortunately, her eyes had adjusted, and it didn't take long for her to spot something shiny in the middle of the floor. "I got something," she told McCoy. She picked it up carefully and bit her lip. "It's his communicator badge."

McCoy swore. _"What the hell does he think he's doin'?"_

"I don't know," Victoria peered into the downward sloping tunnel warily. "You don't think Jim would be stupid enough to go wandering off when I told him to stay put, right?"

 _"_ _You're makin' him sound like a three year old."_

"I'm serious!"

 _"_ _So was I. That's exactly what he'd do."_

Victoria glanced at her watch. "There's still twenty minutes until the next quake."

 _"_ _It'll take you over an hour to get through that tunnel."_

"I could go about halfway in and yell really loudly, couldn't I?"

 _"_ _And what if the roof collapses? I saw you limpin', you can't run anymore."_

"I'll be fine," Victoria was already inching her way into the tunnel. "If I don't call you back in twelve minutes just beam up, okay?"

 _"_ _Hey, don't even think about –"_ Victoria flipped the comm shut and took a deep breath, entering the tunnel with quick, long strides. On instinct, she stuck west, praying that Jim hadn't gotten too far. She focused on being speedy, not needing to be thorough – even if her eyes didn't adjust, she knew she was loud enough to attract attention.

"Jim?" she called out. Her voice echoed back to her eerily, and Victoria had to cup a hand over her mouth to combat the coughing fit she got as soon as she inhaled. The dust and dirt certainly weren't going to help matters. "Jim?" she tried again, this time keeping her mouth covered slightly. Once again, the echo bounced off the walls, but there was no response.

Victoria had been smart enough to turn on a timer on her watch as soon as she had landed in the crater, and the beep every minute told her she didn't have a lot of time if she wanted to make it out before the tunnel collapsed. And she could turn back now, she knew that – no one would blame her, and Jim certainly would want her to be safe. But she couldn't just _leave_. He may be Captain James T. Kirk of the _USS Enterprise,_ but all Victoria saw every time she looked at him was the scared little boy who had run away from home into her yard and stuck to her like glue ever since that day. She couldn't leave him.

"I'm going to kill you, Jim," she muttered to herself. The tunnel was turning towards the east now, and Victoria forced herself to slow down and look at her watch. She had spent more than half of her twenty minutes in these tunnels – if she planned to get out, she'd have to run, and now.

But she didn't. Instead, she kept walking. To distract herself from her impending doom, she began to hum, softly. Her low tones echoed off the walls around her, but it was a good distraction, and she kept it up. A few minutes later, as Victoria paused for breath, she heard an unfamiliar sound. It was a groan.

"Jim?" she called out again. Someone groaned louder. She sped up, and almost cried with relief when she saw a figure slumped by the wall a few feet ahead of her, matted blonde hair caked with dirt and blood. She fell to her knees next to him and gently, but firmly, shook his shoulder. Jim's eyes flickered open. Victoria smiled. "Hey, kid."

"Tori?" his eyes widened. "What're you –"

"No time," interrupted Victoria. "Are you hurt?"

"Roof gave in," Jim jerked his head upwards. Victoria followed his movements and saw that, indeed, the roof of the tunnel had collapsed. There was debris everywhere. Jim coughed. "Hit my head."

"It's okay," soothed Victoria. "You'll be okay, honey." She took out her phaser and offered him a smile, which he returned weakly. Shielding Jim's head with her torso, Victoria fired a shot up into the hole, and grinned when she didn't hear it collide with anything. The roof had given in, alright. It had left a gaping hole straight up to the surface in the process. Which meant…

Victoria unclipped her tracker and pinned it to Jim's collar. He was trying very hard to keep his eyes open, and received a kiss to his forehead for his trouble. He smiled again. "I knew you loved me the most."

"If by that you mean I wasn't going to leave you on this planet, you're right," Victoria took out her PADD and put it in Jim's lap, opening her comm as she did so. To her relief, it let out a static noise when she switched it on. She held it to her ear. "Hello?"

 _"_ _Gotcha!"_ it was Scotty. _"I see ya, lassie! You got the captain with you?"_

"I've got Jim with me, the combined signal from our trackers should be enough for you to beam us up."

 _"_ _Eh, no, it's not,"_ he sounded confused. _"I'm only getting one signal."_

Victoria closed her eyes and sighed deeply. "Can you tell who?"

 _"_ _Whoever's got two trackers on them."_

"Okay," Victoria nodded to herself. "Jim needs a medic. Beam him up, I'll make a run for the crater and you can find me then."

 _"_ _You sure?"_ Scotty sounded doubtful. _"We can try and wait –"_

"No time," said Victoria. Jim's eyes flickered shut and she pinched his arm soundly. "Count to thirty and beam him up. Over and out."

"What're you doing?" mumbled Jim sleepily. "I'm not going without you."

"Yes, you are," Victoria quickly inputted the exact location of the crater into her PADD and tucked it safely under Jim's arm. She caught his eye and smiled. "You're going to have to help me out here, kid," she said softly. "Beam up to the ship and tell someone to use this location to find me, okay?"

"Tori," Jim groaned and tried to sit up properly. "If this is your damn guilt again –"

"This has nothing to do with guilt. I'm not letting you die," as the familiar pulses of energy began to circle Jim, Victoria dropped his hand and inched away. "Just go. I'm going to make a run for the tunnel."

If Jim had an argument to that, Victoria didn't find out. When the light was gone and she was sure Jim had been transported, she stood up and took a deep breath.

And then she ran.


	21. Chapter 21

**Twenty**

Leonard McCoy couldn't decide who he wanted to kill first, Jim Kirk or Victoria More.

"Have you found them yet, Scotty?" he demanded for the fourth time in ten minutes, keeping his ears glued to his communicator.

 _"_ _She's gone into the tunnel! Unless she sends out a signal, I can't –"_

"Dammit, man, is there no way you can reach her?!"

 _"_ _Sorry, Doctor, I can't find her!"_

 _"_ _Doctor McCoy,"_ a different voice came onto the comm. link, smooth and emotionless.

McCoy groaned. This was the last thing he needed. "What is it, Spock?"

 _"_ _I believe it is time you returned to the ship."_

McCoy scowled. "We have two officers down here, and one of them is the captain. What do you suggest we do about that?"

 _"_ _Dr. Woodville is trained to return the captain to us should she find him, Doctor. It would be best if you return now, to avoid any more casualties."_

"Spock, stop talking about Jim dyin' as if this is a simulation!" hissed McCoy. "We have fifteen minutes until the next earthquake. Scotty, where the hell is Woodville?"

 _"_ _I haven't –"_

"Scotty, either you tell me you've found her and Jim or you beam me down to the crater she was in so I can look for 'em myself," snapped McCoy. He heard both men begin to argue and cut them off abruptly. "Do it _now,_ Scotty, or I swear to whatever god there is I will shoot you full of the nastiest stomach flu this side of the universe and dump you onto the brig if I open my eyes and I'm back on the ship instead of in another crater."

Scotty muttered something incomprehensible, and the golden swirls of energy began to pulsate around McCoy again. He barely noticed them this time. He blinked and, just as he had expected, he was in another crater. Scotty had taken his threat seriously.

 _"_ _McCoy?"_ it was Sulu now. _"We've got Jim, Tori just sent him up. Apparently, there was a hole in the tunnel."_

McCoy sighed with relief. "Great. Get me out of here then."

 _"_ _We can't leave yet. We still haven't got Tori,"_ said Sulu grimly. _"The signal wasn't strong enough to beam up two people. Jim says she was going to try and make a run for the crater."_

"For Christ's sake," muttered McCoy. "I'll go in and find her. Just give me a timer on my damn watch."

Sulu did as he asked and scowling darkly, McCoy charged towards the tunnel. He was already planning a hundred different ways he could banish Victoria More to the furthest corner of medbay for the next few years, hopefully keeping her out of trouble. _Of course_ she was going to be as headstrong and reckless as Jim. _Of course._ She had probably taught Jim everything he knew. It irked him, endlessly, because now here he was running through a tunnel he didn't want to be in, all because the damn woman had decided to play the hero and he didn't want blood on his hands.

The tunnel veered east, and he prayed it wasn't going to meander endlessly until he found her. Threatening Scotty to send him here had been a good idea theoretically, but McCoy hadn't thought this through. Finding them alive meant running for _his_ life before the next earthquake struck, and making sure the other two didn't end up dead. His pulse thundered in his ears.

Panting, McCoy rounded a corner and collided with something soft. Reflexively, he reached out a hand to steady himself, and ended up grabbing Victoria's arm. Her eyes widened at the sight of him, and her mouth opened, probably ready to question him, but he cut her off.

"Seventy five seconds," he grunted, already turning around and tugging her back in the direction he had come from.

"What the hell are you doing here?" demanded Victoria. She was panting as she tried to keep up with him – the tunnel was too narrow for both of them to run side-by-side. McCoy realized this, and immediately took a step back so Victoria was in front of him.

He said the first thing he could think of. "Jim'll kill me if you die."

Victoria let out a breathless laugh. "You did _not_ have to risk your life to be a good friend to Jim."

"Shut up and keep running!"

Victoria obeyed. They saw the mouth of the crater just as the ground underneath their feet began to tremble. Victoria hesitated, a classic rookie mistake. Away missions were clearly not her thing, no matter how adept she had been at handling the rescue operation for them. McCoy pushed her forward firmly, only briefly resting his hand against a crumbling wall to add more force. Immediately, he felt something heavy knock against his hand amidst the falling debris, and pain shot through his arm up to his elbow, making him dizzy. It was only an extensive amount of training and living with Jim that made McCoy keep going forward, knowing what would happened if he stopped, and though both he and Victoria managed to dive onto the solid ground of the crater just as the tunnel behind them collapsed into dust, they weren't completely unscathed.

The blood gushing from his hand, and the awkward position his wrist was twisted in, told him all he needed to know. _"Shit,"_ swore McCoy. He unceremoniously yanked Victoria up with his good hand and quickly pulled out his communicator. "McCoy to Scott."

"What the hell did you do?" demanded Victoria. She wrenched his hand away from his chest and her eyes widened in horror. "Oh my god, how did –"

 _"_ _You safe, Doctor?"_ Scotty's voice interrupted her, and McCoy immediately turned to his communicator.

"Get us out of here, Scotty."

 _"_ _Aye, Doctor."_

McCoy had never been more grateful for the nasty feeling that came for a split second with transporting. They were back in the blink of an eye, and McCoy pushed past the few people crowded around the room, heading straight for the door. He was cradling his hand against his chest, hoping nobody would notice. He was lucky, until he realized there was a nurse hovering nearby, probably on duty in case of an emergency, and he pointed to her immediately. "You!" he barked. The woman flinched, and then her eyes widened when she saw his hand. McCoy ignored her expression. "Where's the captain?"

"He has a concussion and a few broken bones, Dr. M'Benga was checking him out when I left," said the nurse immediately. She looked uncomfortable, but at least she was answering his questions promptly. "He said to wait for you before administering any hyposprays. Do you need –"

"Double dose of painkillers and something for all this blood," said McCoy, holding out his good hand. The nurse hesitated for only a second before digging into the medical bag hanging off her shoulder and, with shaking hands, handing him four hyposprays. McCoy frowned. "What's this one?"

"It'll hold the bone in place until you can get a cast put on it," she said meekly. "I assumed it was broken."

"Thank god for small miracles," muttered McCoy. He waved away the nurse's hand and flicked the cap off the hyposprays, injecting them quickly into his neck, one after the other. The nurse looked faintly horrified at his actions, and McCoy knew the combination wasn't exactly the safest, but he ignored her. The pain was already dulling in his hand, but he didn't check to see how well it had worked. He was halfway out the door before he paused, turning back reluctantly. Uhura was standing next to Victoria, patting her on the back as the woman bent down, hands on her knees, to catch her breath. Her hair was messy, there was dirt all over her uniform, but otherwise she seemed unharmed. As she straightened up, they locked eyes. "You alright?" called out McCoy.

The room was noisy and full of people, and he wasn't sure she'd even heard him. But her eyes were clear as she nodded, tersely, and he took it to mean she didn't need any help. He turned back to the nurse. "Medbay, now."

 **!**

"If you die on me, Jim Kirk, I'll kill you all over again."

Jim snorted, then wheezed when the laugh made his ribs hurt. "C'mon, Tori. Couldn't you let me be the hero, just once?"

"Why do you need to be the hero when I'm around?" demanded Victoria. She rubbed at her eyes with her fists angrily, refusing to let any tears fall. "How long have I been saving your ass?"

"Since I was three," said Jim dutifully. His hand touched hers. "Relax, Tori. I'm fine. Bones said it was just an allergic reaction. I get those all the time."

"I know," sniffing, Victoria pushed his hair off his forehead to check his temperature, and sighed with relief when she realized he wasn't warm. "Infection will have worn off by now, I think."

"Then why can't I fall asleep?" whined Jim. "Bones gave me a shit load of painkillers, aren't they supposed to knock you out?"

Victoria's lips twitched. "He's probably given you the anti-drowsy ones to punish you for being an idiot."

Jim groaned, and Victoria rolled her eyes. When she had rushed in Medbay a few minutes behind Dr. McCoy, she had learned that, despite only having a few broken ribs and a concussion, Jim was in surgery until further notice. Apparently there had been something in the air that had reacted adversely with his already weak immune system, leading to a severe reaction that had prompted Dr. McCoy to yell at the on-call doctor, make two nurses cry, and then wheel Jim into the surgical suite while still yelling at another doctor for not waiting for him until he began to administer drugs. Not knowing what to do, Victoria had hesitated by the doors, until Dr. M'Benga had swooped in and, under pretext of checking her over for any injuries, had allowed her to stay in sickbay until Jim had been wheeled out of surgery. He had given her something for the pain in her leg, but had been unwilling to offer her anything else - only McCoy knew what her system could and couldn't take, and clearly Victoria was in no mood to enlighten M'Benga as to her medications.

The blonde captain had, of course, wasted no time in recruiting Victoria to sit by him when he had come out of surgery, but Victoria had only waited until someone had drawn a curtain around them for privacy before beginning to berate him, in harsh whispers, for being an absolute idiot for going into the tunnel when she had specifically told him not to. By the time Jim had begun to complain about being in pain, however, she had simply started threatening to kill him if he didn't shut up.

Even now, Jim looked like he wanted to argue, but he seemed to see something in Victoria's expression that made him quieten. Instead, like the overgrown child he was, he insisted on holding her hand as he tried to sleep. Victoria didn't even argue, allowing him to monopolize her right hand whilst she used her left to stroke his hair, like she had done when he was a child. It was matted with blood and sweat, which of course made her want to start crying again, but she resisted the urge.

Despite his protests, Jim fell asleep fairly quickly. The bustle outside the cordoned off area she was sitting in was still loud, but as it calmed she finally became aware of three particular voices that she recognized.

"I didn't know the Captain and Natira were so close," Nurse Riley was saying. "You don't think –"

"Nah, she treats him like a kid. They might know each other from back in the day," that was M'Benga. His voice was strained, but clearly he wasn't giving away that he knew anything. _If_ he even knew anything.

"You two can stop gossiping like little old ladies now," ah, that was Dr. McCoy. He didn't sound pleased. "Nurse Riley, I think Spock needs another shot of his meds. M'Benga, do a sweep and then take the night off."

Nurse Riley walked off to do as she was told, her heels clacking against the floor loudly. Victoria didn't hear M'Benga leave, but she did hear him speak, quieter now. "You're not gonna confront her here, are you, Leonard? She's hurt pretty bad, her leg's giving her some trouble."

Victoria held her breath. She was curious as to the answer as well, almost morbidly so. _Would_ he confront her? He had every right to. They had kind of, sort of, been friends, and she had used his blind faith in Jim to her advantage. Not to mention making him misuse his authority as the CMO by giving her the medications she needed without actually knowing why he was doing this. He was probably furious with her. The suppressed rage she had heard in his voice was obviously directed at her. Hadn't Jim _and_ Sulu always said McCoy was terrifying when he was well and truly angry?

She was so screwed.

McCoy didn't answer M'Benga's question, but before she had time to school her expression to look as though she _hadn't_ been listening, the curtain was suddenly pulled back and there he stood. It barely took a second for his eyes to lock with hers.

Only, he didn't look angry. He looked _tired._ Victoria immediately felt a large amount of sympathy for him. His best friend had almost died, _he_ had almost died, and a large number of their crew were injured. His hand was hurt, from saving _her_ no less, which meant he wasn't able to help as much as he could. The thought alone made her eyes sting with tears again, because she knew nothing made someone feel as horrible as when they couldn't be useful.

She didn't know if McCoy noticed her tears, but if he did he didn't say anything. Wordlessly, he walked past her chair towards the PADD which was held all the data from the machines that were monitoring Jim's vitals. He skimmed it quickly, but his other hand, now wrapped in a slightly hasty-looking cast, was holding the railing of the cot for support, and the bags under his eyes showed how exhausted he really was. And he was giving M'Benga the night off, which meant he would be the only doctor on call. She winced, but still didn't speak. For the first time, she was afraid of what he would say.

When he finally did speak, it wasn't what she expected. "Get up."

Victoria looked at him, her eyes wide. "What –"

"Stand," he didn't sound like he wanted her to argue. Wordlessly, Victoria stood, gently extracting her hand from Jim's as she did. Without looking into her eyes directly, McCoy took out a tricorder from his pocket and ran it over her. It beeped loudly when it passed her shoulder, and when he pointed it to her leg. McCoy glanced at the screen, but whatever he saw there didn't seem to surprise him. To _her_ surprise, however, he gestured for her to sit down on the bed next to Jim's.

If anyone had been watching them Victoria was sure they would have thought it strange, how she seemed to understand his actions without him having to explain them. As soon as she sat down, she knew it was because his trained eye had picked up on her injuries, and she also knew he had assumed she had had them treated, which was why he hadn't come to her before. Now _she_ was uncomfortable. Leonard McCoy was too damn nice for his own good.

He still didn't speak as he put the tricorder down next to her on the bed. He started with her leg, pulling up a chair and sitting down so he was level with her knee. She could feel the warmth of his hand through the fabric of her pants as he gently prodded the sore muscle, twisting the limb slightly as if to see how much damage had been done. Victoria winced as he touched a particularly sensitive area, but McCoy didn't need to look at her face to know that was where she was hurt. Suddenly, there was a hypospray in his hand and he had released it exactly where she had been in pain. Now, of course, there was a delicious numbness there that she appreciated.

Seemingly satisfied that one thing was out of the way, McCoy stood and came behind her, and Victoria automatically moved her loose hair out of the way to give him access to her shoulder. She could feel his warm hands once again, only this time it hurt much, _much_ more. She almost hissed in pain, and his hand stilled where it had been.

"That hurt?" he asked. His tone was business-like, but not unkind. Victoria screwed her eyes shut and nodded. The throbbing pain was giving her a headache now; it had been easier to ignore it when all she had to worry about was Jim. "It's dislocated," informed McCoy. He almost sounded as though he was sorry for her now. "I'm gonna have to reset it myself."

"Your hand is injured," said Victoria. She didn't turn around to face him. "You should let someone else do it."

"You're my patient," he said, as if that solved everything. Victoria opened her mouth to argue, but suddenly he had twisted her arm, and with a sickening _pop_ that almost made her vomit, he jerked her shoulder straight. For a few seconds that felt like hours, there was only stinging pain, but it was quickly followed by the cool numbness that came from the hypospray he had injected into her neck almost immediately after. "Done," said McCoy needlessly. She felt him move away from behind her. "Lie down and get some rest."

Victoria sighed. "Listen, McCoy, I –"

"No," he shook his head, and Victoria looked at him in surprise. He didn't look upset, or even angry. He just looked tired. "Look, I get you're guilty, or sad, or whatever," he sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "But I've lost two crew-mates, and just had to call time of death on another one. So, I'm sorry you feel bad, but I can't deal with your apologies, or excuses right now. Get some rest, here or in your room, I don't care, and then just stay out of my way."

Victoria didn't say a word in response, and McCoy simply updated her patient file and put the PADD back into its place, departing for his office without even once looking in her direction.


	22. Chapter 22

**Twenty One**

 _Victoria picked up a paper plate and crumpled it up, tossing it into the garbage bag she was dragging behind her. As she bent down to pick up a plastic cup, the satin sash fell off her shoulder and pooled around her ankles in the grass. Groaning softly, she picked it up and hitched it back over her shoulder. The words "BIRTHDAY GIRL" were picked out on the pink material with silver sequins, matching the plastic tiara that was keeping her red curls out of her eyes. Mrs. Cope had told her to take the things off and put them away, but her father had also insisted that she clean up after her friends herself. So Mrs. Cope had gone inside to make dinner and Victoria had been given a trash-bag and twenty minutes to finish cleaning. She must look funny, Victoria mused to herself as she continued to pick up the rubbish littering her garden. Like Cinderella doing her chores in her pretty dress._

 _The sandpit was her last stop. She had told her father she was too old for one now and he could get rid of it, but he was busy and Mrs. Cope didn't want any builders coming to the house when he wasn't there. Victoria didn't think any of her friends had gone towards it with food, and her father had cordoned off the area with some sticks and an old tablecloth, but she poked her head behind it anyway in case there was any trash there._

 _Instead, what she saw made her eyes widen._

 _"_ _Hello?" she asked softly. The little boy seated in her sandpit didn't look older than a few years, his lower lip jutted out in the tell-tale sign of a pout. He had soft, blonde hair, clear blue eyes, and was dressed in a slightly dirty pair of overalls. None of Victoria's friends had a little brother who looked like him, and she was sure she would have noticed if someone had brought a child along. Arms folded across his chest, he looked up at her defiantly. Victoria edged around the make-shift shelter and crouched down next to him. "Are you lost?" she asked gently._

 _He shook his head._

 _"_ _How did you get here?" asked Victoria. She offered him a small smile, and saw his pout waver slightly. He looked like he wanted to smile back, but then started scowling again._

 _"_ _I ran away," he declared._

 _"_ _Oh," Victoria didn't know what to say. "Why?"_

 _"_ _Mommy left me and Uncle Rupert is mean," he rubbed his face aggressively, and Victoria winced at his small cry of pain as he got sand into his eyes._

 _"_ _Here," gently, she pried his fingers off his face and wiped his eyes with the edge of her sash, cleaning the sand off his skin. His blue eyes were slightly bloodshot, but unnervingly clear as they surveyed her suspiciously when she was done. Smiling, she flicked his forehead teasingly. "What's your name, kid?"_

 _He frowned. "Not telling. You're a stranger."_

 _"_ _Well, you're in my yard and it's my birthday," said Victoria genially. "And my name's Victoria. See, we're not strangers anymore."_

 _He seemed to consider her logic before shrugging. "James Tiberius Kirk," he said. The long, old-fashioned name sounded adorable coming from his mouth._

 _"_ _Aren't you Winona Kirk's son?" asked Victoria. James' eyes widened slightly at his mother's name. "You just moved here, right? Your house is right over there," she pointed over his head, at the old house that their neighbour Rupert inhabited. She remembered Mrs. Cope telling her that his sister had left her young son with him a few weeks ago._

 _"_ _Yeah," he looked down and pushed at some sand moodily with his fingers. "Mommy's gone."_

 _"_ _She'll come back," said Victoria kindly. They sat in awkward silence for a moment. Victoria glanced at the little boy, only to see him looking up at her with eyes that were devoid of any positive emotion. She bit her lip. Standing up, she dusted some sand off her dress and held out her hand. "Do you want to come inside?" she offered. "Mrs. Cope can make you a snack and then we'll call your uncle so he knows you're okay. I'm sure he was worried about you."_

 _"_ _Uncle Rupert's mean," James' lower lip began to tremble, and Victoria winced. "I don't wanna go back."_

 _"_ _It's okay," soothingly, Victoria picked him up without invitation. She felt his small hands grip the sleeves of her shirt as he buried his face into her shoulder. "How about some cake and a glass of milk? Do you like chocolate?" still not looking up, James nodded. Victoria smiled. "Good, that's my favourite flavour."_

 _Inside, Mrs. Cope almost dropped a serving-spoon when she saw Victoria enter with a little boy. When the situation was explained, however, the housekeeper's eyes softened and she patted James on the back gently. "It must be hard from him to be away from his mama," she said kindly. "I'll tell your father to give Rupert a call. Are you going to be okay keeping an eye on him, Tori?"_

 _"_ _Yes, Mrs. Cope," Victoria had already set James down on the dining-table and given him a plastic cup of milk. "Don't worry about us."_

 _"_ _Who knew you were so good with kids?" mused Mrs. Cope as she wandered out of the room._

 _James looked up at Victoria curiously. "You said your name was Victoria."_

 _"_ _It is," Victoria smiled. "Tori is my nickname."_

 _"_ _I like Tori," James smiled shyly, and Victoria couldn't help but smile back._

 _"_ _You can call me Tori," she assured him._

 _James smiled wider. Before she could speak, her father strode into the room. "Winona's kid?" he asked briskly. He barely looked at the little boy. "Mrs. Cope can take him over, I'll call Rupert," he walked back out without a second glance._

 _Victoria felt James shrink into her side, and gave him a reassuring hug. "Mrs. Cope will take you back," she said, patting his knee. "I'll give you some cake for later, okay?"_

 _"_ _Okay," James sounded sad, and Victoria sighed quietly. When the cake was packed in a plastic box and Jim was about to be handed off to Mrs. Cope, however, he didn't let go of Victoria's hand. His eyes were wide and innocent when he looked up at her. "Can you come with me?" he asked._

 _"_ _I don't think –" began Mrs. Cope, but Victoria had already gathered James up in her arms and was crossing over to the front door._

 _"_ _We'll be okay, Mrs. Cope," said Victoria. She smiled down at the little boy in her arms. "Right, Jim?"_

 _Jim Kirk grinned. "Right, Tori."_

 **!**

"Captain," Homer nodded respectfully as Jim strode into the laboratory.

Jim grinned. "Morning, Lieutenant. How is everyone up here?"

"Fine, sir. Dr. Woodville is in the sun-room."

Jim raised his eyebrows. "Now why would you assume I'm here to see her?"

"She did save your life just last week, sir," pointed out Homer. And then added, dryly, "Also, I heard her threatening to castrate you if you left sick-bay before Dr. McCoy discharged you, so I assumed you were friends."

Jim chuckled. "Well, if we weren't friends before we should be now, eh?" he indicated for Homer to walk ahead. "You think you can let me in there so I can have a word with her?"

"Of course, sir," Homer led him to the familiar panel, and entered the code. "Lieutenant? Captain Kirk is here to see you."

Victoria responded a few seconds later. "Thank you, Homer. Send him in but make him wear gloves."

"Gloves?" Jim frowned, but Homer didn't seem to find the request odd. He handed Jim a pair of latex gloves he had taken out of his pocket and unlocked the door, gesturing for him to go in.

"Don't ask," was all he said.

The sun-room was the same environment it had been the last time Jim visited. The artificial sun was pleasing against his face, and Victoria was once again seated on a work-bench in the middle of the garden, her eyes hidden behind large tinted goggles. She was picking up shards of something shiny with a pair of tweezers, and held up a free hand to indicate that Jim should be quiet.

"Hello," she said, finally putting down the tweezers and looking up.

Jim saw his own face reflected in the glass of her eye-wear and grimaced. "Take those off, Tori, you look like a bug."

"Thanks," Victoria snorted, but didn't remove them. "The sun gets really bright after a while, but its optimum temperature for this particular element. How are you feeling, Jim?"

"Fine," Jim waved away her concern. "Bones gave me a clean bill of health, I promise."

Victoria winced at something he said, but Jim wasn't sure what. Nevertheless, she smiled slightly. "I'm glad. And how's Spock?"

"I think he likes you now. He wants to have a meeting to go over some new science journal later in the week."

"Perfect," she sounded heavily sarcastic.

Jim waited for a few seconds, and then raised his eyebrows. "So?"

"So?" Victoria raised her eyebrows back. "You came to see me, remember?"

"You're not going to tell me what you and Bones talked about?"

"When?" her voice was sharp.

Jim blinked. "You were trapped together in a tunnel for hours, Tori. Didn't he have questions or anything?"

"No," Victoria busied herself with the shards of crystal once again.

"Are you sure?" persisted Jim. "He hasn't said anything to me about you, I thought you two had hashed it out."

"There is nothing to hash out," said Victoria simply. "He asked for the truth; you know I can't give that to him, and that was that. He was nice enough to fix my injuries, and I appreciate his help, but there's nothing more to it, Jim. I've done enough damage, honestly."

Victoria wasn't sure if it was the bitterness in her voice, the fact that her hands were shaking slightly as she continued to weigh the crystals on the machine in front of her, or even if it was because Jim Kirk knew her better than most people in her life, but when he made a move to yank the glasses off her face, Victoria let him. He saw her red, puffy eyes, bloodshot from two days of crying and three sleepless nights, and his expression darkened.

"I'll kill him," he said flatly.

"You won't," Victoria sighed. "Hey, sit down," she grabbed his arm and pulled him to sit next to her before he could walk away. "This isn't on him, Jim. He's the only one willing to tell me the truth here."

"And what is the truth?" demanded Jim. "He made you cry!"

"He didn't aim to make me cry," said Victoria patiently. "He just pointed out the kind of damage I can do. That's not his fault. It's mine."

Jim groaned. "Tori, what happened on the mission isn't your fault."

"You've lost three crew members, Jim."

"Tunnels collapsing and earthquakes are not things you can control."

"But I could have anticipated them!" insisted Victoria. Jim looked taken aback by the distress in her voice, and she took a deep breath to try and calm down, but she wasn't doing a good job of it. The emotions from the past few days had bubbled to the surface, and she was only glad no one but Jim was around to see her break down. "I'm smart, Jim. I'm good at my job, and I wanted to get involved in _everything_ and help, but I was so terrified of blowing my cover that I let an unqualified ensign do a presentation that may or may not have left out key facts that could have allowed us to foresee what would go wrong on the mission!"

"The weight of the world isn't on your shoulders, Tori!" retorted Jim. "You're upset and you care and I get that, trust me if anyone should feel guilty it's me, but that's now how you survive this job. You know that, _you_ taught me that!"

Victoria shook her head. "You're stronger than I could ever hope to be, Jim. I can't deal with loss the way you can, and you've protected me for too long. McCoy was willing to point out that people _died_ last week, and he didn't do it on purpose but he had the right idea when he said he wanted me to stay away. I _should_ stay away."

"Stay away?" Jim frowned. "Tori, you're on this ship, for better or for worse, and you're a part of my crew now. I'm not going to let you do something stupid."

"I know," Victoria grasped his hand and smiled sadly. "I know you'll never abandon me, kid, and I don't think I'd survive if I asked you to. But I can't let my actions affect any more people. I'm done asking for more interesting jobs, I'm done trying to get Spock to trust me. He doesn't trust me, and he shouldn't. Neither should McCoy. I won't have more blood on my hands, Jim. Consider this my resignation, for all intents and purposes."

"Tori, come on, I –"

"I'll do what I'm assigned, and nothing more. If anyone wants any help, you know where to find me, but the more I get involved the more dangerous this could get."

"It's _space,_ Tori! It's dangerous by definition!"

"I shouldn't be the one putting people in danger," she snapped. "Jim, I'm not you. I never was. I can't deal with more loss, okay? Please, try to understand that."

Jim hesitated. He knew he could convince Victoria to go back on her decision, because he knew how much he owed her from the last mission. Even if she really did believe she was the reason it had gone wrong, it had also been righted by her. She had practically single-handedly saved everyone, and even though casualties were unfortunate, Jim knew they were unavoidable. Victoria hadn't been on a mission in years. Was it possible she had forgotten?

"We'll talk about this some other time," said Jim finally. "For now, you can work as much as you want, and spend as much time in your quarters as you prefer. Is that okay?"

Victoria sighed and put her glasses back on, returning to the crystals she had been examining before. "It is, thank you. I know you don't understand, Jim, but it's for the best."

"Okay," Jim ran a hand through his hair and stood up. "I have to go. Have dinner with me tomorrow?"

"I will," Victoria smiled. "Now go do some actual work."

Jim said goodbye and left the science deck, his mood considerably dampened. He knew Victoria's eyes would haunt him for the next few days – he had rarely seen her cry, even as a child, and it had thrown him off completely to see how upset she was. Even though the mission probably had a lot to do with her mood, that wasn't the only thing that was wrong. He knew she was sugar-coating McCoy's words. His friend was rough around the edges, and harsh on a good day, so Jim couldn't imagine what he'd said to Victoria when he was angry and hurting.

Fortunately, he didn't need to imagine for long. With the typical impulsiveness he was known for, Jim paused on his way up to the bridge and patted his shoulder comm., making a decision he hoped he wouldn't regret. "Kirk to McCoy."

 _"_ _McCoy here."_

"Bones, you free for lunch?"

 _"_ _Its four thirty, Jim."_

"Great! Meet me in my quarters."

 _"_ _What do you –"_ Jim cut him off, changing directions and determinedly heading towards his room. Bones was wrong, and he'd make him see it. It was a risky plan, and it could backfire in so many ways, but it was the only plan he had, and he needed to do something _now._ room. Bones was wrong, and he'd make him see it. He owed Victoria that much, at least.

And if it worked, she'd feel better, and he could get that haunting image of her bloodshot eyes out of his mind.


	23. Chapter 23

**Warning: mentions (very brief) of child abuse - I apologise if this goes against what other people think happened, and I will try to be as sensitive as possible.**

* * *

 **Twenty Two**

Leonard McCoy stomped past his nurses and headed for the exit to sickbay, barking at M'Benga that he was in charge. The other doctor raised a hand lazily, not even looking up from the report he was reading. Nurse Riley threw him a curious look from her post by the door, but didn't try to stop him. He really wasn't in the mood to leave anyone else in charge of his patients that day, but Jim hadn't left him much choice. When McCoy hadn't gone to see him for 'lunch' as he'd asked, Jim had locked him out of his computer system and demanded he come see him if he wanted the command overridden.

He couldn't chalk up his bad temper to just Jim though. If he was being honest with himself, McCoy hadn't been in a good mood for a few days now. He told himself it was because he was overworked and stressed and just hating space in general, as usual, but it felt… different, this time.

He also told himself it had nothing to do with the way he'd spoken to Victoria More a few days ago.

In retrospect, it had been her own fault. It was common knowledge on the _Enterprise_ that you didn't mess with McCoy when the ship was in ruins, crew members were injured or Jim's life was in danger. If it was a mix of two or more things, then you simply avoided medbay unless you were dying and there was no other doctor available. Someone should have told Victoria that – Jim had once joked that they ought to put it in the ship's manual: _When Not to Talk to Doctor McCoy._ At the time, McCoy had been pissed, but now he almost wishes they had done it. To say he regretted talking to her like that was an understatement. She may have been doing something he disagreed with, but Jim did that on a daily basis and McCoy had never attacked him like that. He knew he had been too harsh on her, and he had a feeling all Jim was about to do was make him feel worse about it. Despite himself, his mind drifted back to that day.

 _"_ _Dr. McCoy?" a soft voice called out. McCoy looked up from his PADD, too tired to snap but not tired enough that the scowl on his face was any less dark than it usually was. He could feel mild irritation creep up on him when he saw who was standing at his office door._

 _"_ _What is it?" he asked roughly._

 _Victoria bit her lip and entered his office without invitation, allowing the doors to slide shut behind her. McCoy almost felt sorry for her then – she looked terrible, and she was rubbing her arm in an absent way, which made him suspect that her dislocated shoulder was giving her some trouble. He almost offered her a hypospray, but resisted the urge. Standing close to her in those damn tunnels and while he had been fixing her injuries had been bad enough, he didn't need to find excuses to make a fool out of himself again. Instead, he inputted a dose of painkillers into her patient records as he waited for her to speak. Nurse Riley would administer them when she saw her leave sickbay._

 _"_ _I was wondering if I could talk to you," she said finally. Despite how nervous she looked, her voice was calm and even. As if she had done nothing wrong, and this was a follow-up discussion after he had given her a flu shot._

 _And that just annoyed McCoy even more._

 _"_ _Sorry, I'm busy," he said shortly. "If you have a medical emergency, Nurse Riley or Dr. M'Benga will take care of it."_

 _Victoria folded her arms across her chest, her mouth tightening slightly. "You didn't push me over to either of them when my shoulder was dislocated and my knee was killing me."_

 _"_ _I was close by and they were both busy," he said immediately, and then cursed himself for sounding so defensive._

 _As if sensing his inner debate, Victoria's eyes narrowed. "Bullshit. At least admit you did it because I'm your patient, and you feel responsible for me."_

 _"_ _And how'd you repay that gesture?" he sneered._

 _She faltered. "I can explain, I –"_

 _"_ _What part of "stay out of my way" did you not get?" demanded McCoy. "Christ, Victoria, I get that you're on the run or some shit like that, but I think I was pretty clear when I said I_ don't _care. You almost got me court marshalled!"_

 _"_ _It wouldn't have come to that," said Victoria, fighting to keep her voice even. "I would never let it come to that, and I can explain why –"_

 _"_ _I don't want to hear it!" he snapped. "Jim knows, doesn't he? Look where that got him – stuck in sickbay because he had to run around those damn tunnels tryin' to save you!"_

 _"_ _That isn't on me!" she shot back, her voice slightly louder than normal. "Don't make this about anyone else, because I had nothing to do with how many patients you lost, Leonard. If anything, I saved more than one person!"_

 _Despite her angry expression, McCoy saw the hint of uncertainty in her face, and he pounced on it. Anything to get her out of his office, so he could stop feeling this curious mix of anger and confusion and something else he didn't want to think about until he'd had some sleep._

 _"_ _And at what cost? Savin' people doesn't excuse the damage you've done, and the damage you could still do. The ship had orders to leave after a certain amount of time, no matter who was on board, and I know Jim gave those orders because of you. What if we'd have had to leave him? Would you have made us stay?" Victoria's hands clenched into fists at his question. McCoy shook his head. "Even you can't answer that, can you?"_

 _"_ _I wouldn't have –"_

 _"_ _We don't know what you wouldn't or couldn't have done, because nobody knows what the hell they've gotten themselves into while you and Jim are playin' your damn espionage game," said McCoy bitterly. "Now, I ain't gonna turn you in, or say anythin' to Jim about it, even though God knows I should. But you know the kind of damage you can do," he fixed her with a hard look. "Best for everyone if you stay out of the way."_

 _Victoria bit her lip, the sudden anger disappearing as quickly as it had arrived. Without a word, she turned around and exited his office, leaving McCoy with a curious feeling of guilt and relief._

"Bones?"

McCoy looked up quickly, surprised to see himself already standing outside Jim's door. His friend was looking at him curiously, but stepped back and gestured for him to come in without comment.

"Alright, I'm here," he said gruffly. "What do you want, Jim?"

"I want to talk about Tori," said Jim, not bothering to waste time with pleasantries. "I saw her today, and she's been crying. She told me what you said."

McCoy winced. "She did?"

"I knew it!" yelled Jim. McCoy frowned, and the blonde man shook his head. "I _knew_ you were an asshole to her, even though she said you weren't. I told her I –"

"She said what?" interrupted McCoy. The guilt was settling in the pit of his stomach steadily. "She – she said I didn't say anythin'?"

"She said you were the only one willing to tell her the truth on this ship," said Jim, watching him carefully. "Bones, what did you say to her? Did she even tell you why she's here?"

"I don't need to know that, Jim," McCoy shook his head. "I was an asshole to her, okay? If she said I wasn't, she's lyin'."

"What did you say?"

McCoy winced. "You really wanna know?" Jim gave him a look, and he sighed. "Okay, I may have told her you gettin' injured was her fault."

Jim blinked. "Are you crazy? That isn't what happened and you know it."

"You ran into those tunnels after her!"

"After _both_ of you!" corrected Jim, his voice rising in anger. "Damn it, Bones, how many times have I done something reckless for you, or Spock, or Uhura? Why is it so hard to believe I'd do it for Tori? I've known her since I was a kid, and I promised her she'd be safe on my ship! She's the best person you'll ever meet, and she'd _never_ put anyone in danger deliberately."

McCoy bristled. "Look, kid, I know she's like family to you, but this ain't right. She's lyin' about who she is, about her medical records, and she could be lyin' about other stuff too, just to get you to help her."

"Tori wouldn't lie to me," said Jim firmly.

McCoy shook his head in exasperation. "This could be _dangerous,_ Jim. We could be in over our heads."

"You sound like Spock," Jim snorted and picked up his PADD, typing in something and flicking through files. "I get having to explain this stuff to him, Bones, but you actually had a healthy relationship with your parents. Tori's been like a mom and a sister to me ever since I can remember. I owe her way more than just a place to hide out."

"What're you doin'?" McCoy narrowed his eyes as Jim pressed another button on his PADD and the lights dimmed, signalling the beginning of a video stream. When the in-built projector lit up and the wall in front of him was suddenly transformed into a screen, he groaned. "I don't have time for this, Jim."

"Just watch," Jim sat down and flicked through a couple more files. McCoy looked over his shoulder and saw a collection of video clips and pictures, with dates and times instead of file names. Jim opened one which was dated over twenty years ago, and then sat back, gesturing to the screen. "Five minutes, Bones. Please?"

McCoy sighed, but sat back nevertheless. The screen lit up and a video began playing. Despite himself, McCoy smiled. The little boy on the screen looked to be about eight years old, with bright blue eyes and shaggy blonde hair. It was clearly Jim.

He came close to the camera and seemed to fiddle with something for a moment, and suddenly the lens zoomed out, giving a view of an unfamiliar living-room. Amongst the various articles of furniture, McCoy spotted another figure sitting on one of the sofas, reading a book. It wasn't hard to recognize Victoria; she had the same fiery hair, the same green eyes, and the same pale skin. But she was obviously younger, no older than sixteen: the lack of worry lines made that clear.

 _"_ _Tori!" Jim looked like he was about to cry. "It's not working!"_

 _"_ _Hmm?" Victoria looked up from the book, right at the camera. She frowned at the device. "What's wrong, Jim?"_

 _"_ _The camera isn't working," Jim folded his arms across his chest. "I can't fix it!"_

 _Without missing a beat, Victoria tossed her book onto the floor and came closer, crawling towards where Jim was sitting on the floor, pouting. Smiling, she picked him up and gave him a smacking kiss on his cheek, causing him to giggle. "Why isn't it working, honey?" she asked. "Your mom said all we had to do was record and them mail her the tapes."_

 _"_ _She said the light had to be green," Jim pointed to the camera accusingly. "It's red!"_

 _"_ _Green is to make sure the camera is on, and red means it's recording, Jim," explained Victoria patiently. She wrapped her arms around the little boy's middle and pulled him onto her lap. "We can record it together. What do you want to say to mom, huh?"_

 _"_ _I miss you and I love you," recited Jim dutifully, looking at the camera seriously. Behind him, Victoria bit her lip to avoid smiling._

 _"_ _And?" she prompted._

 _"_ _And Tori is amazing and I don't want her to go to college!"_

 _Victoria laughed. "How about I take you with me?"_

 _"_ _Promise?" Jim sounded perfectly serious._

 _Victoria tickled his sides, making him shriek with laughter. "Focus, smarty-pants. What did you do in school this week?"_

 _"_ _We painted and we read books, and Mrs. McIntyre sent me to the other classroom to read with the big kids because she said I knew too much," answered Jim. Then, he frowned and looked up at Victoria in confusion. "Is that a bad thing, Tori?"_

 _"_ _No, honey, there's nothing wrong with that," assured Victoria. "She just didn't want you to get bored learning stuff you already knew. You're a very smart boy."_

 _"_ _But Uncle Rupert said being sent out of class is bad," Jim's eyes suddenly filled with tears. "He said he'd hit me if it happened again."_

 _Victoria's eyes glinted, and she threw a dirty look at the camera. "Uncle Rupert won't touch you, Jim," she said evenly. The hint of steel in her voice was unmistakable. "Mom won't let him, okay?"_

 _"_ _You said that last time," Jim's voice was small._

 _Victoria cuddled him closer to her chest, pressing a kiss to the top of his head. "Why don't you stay here for the night, huh?" she asked, the fake cheer in her voice obvious to anyone who wasn't Jim. "We can have a slumber party and watch movies and eat candy!"_

 _"_ _Uncle Rupert said –"_

 _"_ _I'll make Mrs. Cope ask him," interrupted Victoria. "Do you want to stay, Jim?"_

 _"_ _Yes," Jim threw his arms around Victoria and gave her a hug, burying his face into her shoulder. Despite his muffled tone, his words were clear. "Love you, Tori."_

 _"_ _Love you too, honey. Run upstairs and find Mrs. Cope," Victoria pulled back and smiled. "She can ask Uncle Rupert and I'll make us some popcorn, okay?"_

 _"_ _Okay!" Jim grinned and jumped up. He began calling for someone as he ran up the stairs, and Victoria watched him leave until his voice faded away. The soft smile on her face vanished and was replaced by a look of worry as she turned back to the camera._

 _"_ _Winona,_ please _tell Rupert to stop scaring Jim like that," she said, her voice hushed. "He's just a kid, and he's terrified of doing anything wrong in case he gets hit. Mrs. Cope says he doesn't smile unless she's there, and I know he doesn't feel safe unless I'm around. I know he's your brother, but Jim is your son," she sounded like she was about to cry. "I'll mail the tape myself so Jim doesn't see this, but please do something about him. And I –" she cut herself off abruptly, turning around to see who was descending the stairs. It was a middle-aged woman with a kind face. "Mrs. Cope?"_

 _"_ _Jim told me he's staying," said Mrs. Cope. She didn't notice the camera. "Rupert's been acting up again?"_

 _"_ _I don't know, but Jim wanted to stay," Victoria shrugged. "Can you just tell him not to expect him for dinner?"_

 _"_ _I'll go over, but I don't think he's in," the older woman sighed. "I'll leave a note, and I've got Jim's bed ready in your room. Lock the door behind me, Tori."_

 _"_ _Yes, Mrs. Cope," Victoria kept her eyes fixed on a point above the camera, waiting until the woman left. When she was gone, she turned back to the camera. "Also, I know you aren't coming for Jim's birthday again, so I invited a bunch of his friends over to my house for the day next week. I'm not going to be able to spend much money, but at least he'll get some presents and I'll make him a cake. Rupert is going out of town anyway, so I thought it would be a nice surprise for Jim. Anyway, see you soon."_

Jim ended the video and pulled up another one onto the screen without waiting for McCoy's reaction. It was in the same house, only the camera was now in Victoria's hands, focused on her face as she concentrated on doing something. She fiddled with it for a second, then smiled brightly.

 _"_ _It's working now!" she cheered. Setting it down on a flat surface, she backed away and Jim appeared by her side. "How's that?"_

 _"_ _It only works when you're around," Jim folded his arms across his chest stubbornly._

 _"_ _Don't sulk," she reprimanded lightly. She sat back down on the floor and pulled Jim down next to her. "Now, give me a kiss."_

"Tori," _Jim rolled his eyes. "I'm too_ old _for that now."_

 _"_ _No, you're not," Victoria didn't seem bothered in the least. Without batting an eyelid, she messed up Jim's hair. "You're going to give me as many hugs and kisses as I want until you're forty, Jim Kirk."_

 _"_ _Fine," Jim allowed Victoria to cuddle him for a few more seconds, and the abruptly stood up. "Okay, I'm ready to talk to Mom now."_

 _"_ _Okay," said Victoria cheerfully. "I'll go make us a snack. Remember to tell Mom how well you did on your spelling test this week."_

 _"_ _I will," Jim nodded, and Victoria dropped a quick kiss onto the top of his head before disappearing from the frame. Jim watched her leave, and as soon as the sound of a door clicking shut was heard, he turned his eyes immediately back to the camera._

 _"_ _Hi, Mom," he said, waving. He wrinkled his nose. "This is weird. Tori says it's easier than calling you because I can talk more here, but I hope you call me soon too, 'cause I really want you to be there when I tell Uncle Rupert that I don't want to live with him anymore. I already asked Mr. More and Mrs. Cope if I can stay here," he added hastily. "They said they don't care since I'm here all the time anyway, but Uncle Rupert is always saying I need to be at his house more because of the stipend you send. I tried looking up what that word meant, but Tori wouldn't let me," he frowned. "Can't you send it to him anyway without me there? I don't wanna stay with him, I told you he's mean and he hits me, and I know you said that he doesn't mean it and he doesn't hit me that hard, but he does! See?" and he stood up and lifted his shirt, showing an ugly purple bruise against his ribs. Next he turned to show the clear finger marks on his forearm, and a bruised knee that was obviously from falling down. Or being pushed. Jim sat back down in front of the camera. "Tori would never hit me, Mom, and Mr. More isn't very friendly and he smiles less than Uncle Rupert but he doesn't hit Tori either. I heard Mrs. Cope telling the lady across the street that he thinks it's a disgusting thing to do to a kid. So I've decided I'm going to leave," he nodded firmly. "That way Uncle Rupert won't have to see me all the time and Tori can help me with my homework all the time and Mrs. Cope will make me roast beef every week, and Mr. More only said I need to keep doing well in school. So I wanted you to know so you can help me when I have to tell Uncle Rupert. So, call me soon, please," he added, his voice and face hopeful. "I don't wanna tell him alone, Mom. He scares me, and he –" abruptly, he stopped talking as the door opened again._

 _"_ _Jim?" it was Mrs. Cope again. "Honey, Victoria says she's ready to help you with your homework, and the tape can't be too long or else it'll take ages to upload to your Mom. So finish up quickly and come upstairs, okay?"_

 _"_ _Okay, Mrs. Cope," Jim smiled toothily at her. His two front teeth were missing._

Jim paused the video suddenly, and McCoy was left staring at the picture of a young Jim Kirk, his eyes full of hope and mischief. As light as Jim was now, he'd never seen him look like this before.

And now he knew why.

Jim threw McCoy a look. "Need to see any more, Bones?"

"Dammit, Jim," McCoy ran a hand through his hair. "You never said –"

"- that my uncle was abusive and my mom did nothing about it?" Jim snorted. "Even _I_ didn't know that was bad until I realized that, no matter how shitty Tori's father was, he never laid a hand on either of us. The man's an asshole, but he wouldn't let Rupert touch me, and he told their housekeeper to keep me out of there. Tori did it herself when he wasn't around, and Rupert was too scared of her dad to try anything with her."

"You should have said something," was all McCoy could say. He felt faintly sick. "Christ, Jim, what else did he do to you?"

Jim shrugged. "Just enough to scare me, but not enough that anyone would find out. It isn't important anymore. But Tori _is_ important. Obviously, I didn't end up moving in with them," he gestured to the screen. "My mom never called, and I chickened out of telling Rupert I wanted to leave. I was always with the Mores anyway, so it really wouldn't have been that big of a shift, but I was restless after Tori left for college. The icing on the cake was when I got arrested," he snorted.

McCoy paled. "D-did Rupert do somethin' to you after that?"

Jim shook his head. "No, but Tori finally found out about this tape the day I got arrested. She called my mom to ask her what she should do and my mom told her that she should have known something was up because of what I had said about Rupert. That's why Tori stayed with me while I did my community service, and that's how she got Rupert to get me off the hook. She threatened to use the tape and get him arrested for child abuse," Jim looked oddly proud as he said that. "Rupert was dumb enough to think she could do it, even though it was so old nothing would have happened.

"But she was so guilty that summer, Bones. She kept saying she should have seen how bad it got, that she should have done something about it. But she was a kid too, and I never blamed her. She had already practically raised me, she never got to do normal things on weekends because she always had to look after me, and it didn't stop even when I got older. She came back every summer, every Christmas, and the only reason I stuck around in Iowa was because of her, because I knew no matter how far away she went she'd always come back for me. I owe her so much, Bones," Jim turned to his friend, his tone desperate. "I know you think this is a bad idea, and I won't betray her trust and tell you exactly why it isn't, but this isn't on her. She wanted my help, and I couldn't say no. I _won't_ say no to Tori, Bones."

McCoy shook his head slowly. "I don't know what to say, Jim."

"Look, if you can just move past the fact that she lied about who she was and could have gotten you in trouble, I promise you, you'll feel just the way I do," said Jim earnestly. "She didn't want you to know because it would be dangerous, Bones, because you have a daughter and she knows the more people know, the more they'll be in danger. You know how easy it would have been for her if you, her _doctor,_ knew she was here, right? And you two were almost friends, weren't you?" he added hopefully. "I know you liked her. She's an amazing person. Will you give her a chance now?"

"Jim, I can't just –"

"Please, Bones," something in the younger man's tone made McCoy pause. "I've never asked you to do anything easier. Just make things right with her, okay? I can't – I don't like to see her so upset."

McCoy sighed. "I'll talk to her," he said grudgingly. "But I want to know everything before I pass judgement. Just because she's a good person, doesn't mean this ain't a bad decision."

Jim smiled a little. "That sounds fair. But you'll apologize to her too, right?"

"Yeah," said McCoy reluctantly. "Bad decision or not, what I said to her wasn't right."

Jim chuckled. "Apologizing to Victoria is the easiest thing in the world. She can't stay mad at anyone no matter how hard she tries."

"She's got the easy job, then," muttered McCoy. "I gotta go now," he added louder, standing up as Jim turned the lights back on. "But, uh," awkwardly, he rested a hand on his friend's shoulder. "If you need to talk –"

"I don't need a therapist, Bones," said Jim, rolling his eyes. "It was a long time ago."

"Well, I am a qualified counsellor," said McCoy pointedly. "But no, kid. I meant, if you do need to talk, I've got a bottle of bourbon stashed somewhere that I could crack open if you wanted."

Jim laughed. "You shouldn't be telling me that."

"You sayin' you ain't got some around this ship too?" McCoy raised an eyebrow.

"Maybe," Jim's eyes twinkled impishly. "I may take you up on your offer, though. I don't like dipping into my stash unless I can help it."

"Glad I offered," said McCoy dryly. "Now, let me into my damn computer system so I can get some work done."

"Yes, sir," Jim gave him a mocking salute, and McCoy rolled his eyes. His friend's laughter followed him out the door as he headed back to sickbay, the feeling of guilt growing heavier in his stomach with every step as Victoria More's laughing face flashed in front of his eyes again, her arms wrapped around a much younger and much happier Jim Kirk.


	24. Chapter 24

**Twenty Three**

Victoria's feelings had morphed from hurt to anger by the time she saw Dr. McCoy again.

Granted, the hurt had been intense. For a week, she had been unable to sleep, barely eaten, and had avoided all forms of contact with everyone on board the ship as much as possible. Every time she had passed Jim in the halls, or if he had tried to call her to see how she was, Leonard McCoy's words had sounded in her mind again: _"Best for everyone if you stay out of the way."_

McCoy had basically insinuated that she was putting everyone she knew, his _friends,_ in danger for selfish reasons. And Victoria knew that, to some, what she was doing indeed seemed selfish. But, as she had thought at the time, she had earned this small amount of selfishness. From the day she had turned eighteen, when she had been forced to grow up much sooner than she had wanted to, she had made every unselfish decision possible. She had stayed home because her father had wanted her to, she had scarified a great job right out of college because Jim had needed her, and she had lived with her step-brother and his daughter because they clearly needed her too. And a few months ago, it had seemed as though she could finally cash in on the countless favours the people in her life owed her. She had Jim in her corner now, her father was finally cooperating, and Ben had been more than happy to say yes to whatever she asked. It had been years since she had felt this secure. _Now,_ she could be selfish.

It didn't make her feel any better, though.

Sighing, Victoria pushed around the food in her plate absently. She had purposefully gone into the mess hall when she was sure nobody who knew her would be free. Her replicator was broken, and she was too wary of asking engineering if they could spare anyone to fix it. The last time she had spoken to Scotty, he had given her a very odd look, and Victoria was anxious to avoid him lest he begin to suspect that Natira Woodville was actually someone he had met before.

"Natira?" she jumped at the familiar voice, her fork clattering to the floor.

Trying to suppress a groan, Victoria offered the two people in front of her a wan smile. "Hi guys."

"Hi," said Uhura. Without invitation, the dark-skinned woman set her tray on Victoria's table and sat down, giving her companion a look that instructed him to do the same. Victoria was sure her face displayed her lack of enthusiasm as Spock picked up her fork from the ground, placing it neatly next to her tray, and sat down as well.

"You are off-shift, Lieutenant," said Spock in his usual flat voice.

"Aren't you just full of insight," mumbled Victoria to herself. She sneaked up a glance at Uhura, feeling guilty immediately: the communications officer had always been nice to her, and though Victoria liked her a great deal, she couldn't help the fact that she found her boyfriend slightly intolerable.

Fortunately, Uhura seemed amused by her reaction. "I thought you usually worked right now. We switched shifts because Spock wanted to run some tests in the lab and I have a few remiss signals that need archiving."

Victoria smirked. "You mean Spock got annoyed of Jim and you got tired of watching them both argue?"

Uhura laughed, and Spock raised one eyebrow in that curious way he had, which Victoria supposed was as expressive as he could get, even for a half-Vulcan. "I assure you, Lieutenant, I do indeed have to use the lab today."

"I believe you, Commander," said Victoria. She picked up a French fry and chewed thoughtfully, ignoring the fork by her side. Spock didn't react as she ate with her hands, but she knew it was annoying him a little. _Good._ "Did you manage to read my report on the J-zone crystals, by the way?"

"Your findings were adequate, yes."

"Glad I could help."

"Perhaps you would like to take on something more mentally stimulating next," said Spock, and Victoria froze in the act of picking up a second French fry. Opposite her, Uhura looked down at her tray and stared at her salad. "Lieutenant Homer informs me that Commander Scott has a concern on the effect the atmosphere of the last planet has had on our sub-space transmission capabilities, and with your background in geoscience –"

"I'm not looking for any new projects right now," said Victoria hastily. "I, uh, should probably focus on those crystals."

"The crystals only need basic testing and cataloguing, I am sure an Ensign could do those for you," said Spock.

"It does sound interesting," offered Uhura, and something in her tone made Victoria think this was a prepared attack. "You would be working with me for most of the time, since it's about communications. And I'm a lot more fun than Homer," she added, smiling.

Victoria smiled back, even as her fingers began to tap against the flat surface of the table anxiously. "I'm sure the Commander's report will offer many insights, but seniority-wise I think Lieutenant Homer should be offered the project first."

"Seniority does not matter where skills and experience can be utilised instead," said Spock. "I am confused by your reluctance, Lieutenant. After our last conversation, I assumed you would welcome the challenge."

Uhura gave him a sharp look, clearly unaware of this so-called _conversation._ Victoria noticed, and frowned internally. Maybe this wasn't a planned attack after all. She was clearly getting too paranoid.

"Things change," she said evenly. "I would prefer to fly under the radar now."

Spock opened his mouth to say something, but just then Uhura cut him off. "Stop hovering!" she called out, her eyes fixed on someone behind Victoria. "Come sit!"

Victoria turned back in confusion, and couldn't hide the tightening of her features when she saw who Uhura had beckoned over. It was McCoy.

 **!**

Leonard McCoy hadn't been _hovering,_ as Uhura had so eloquently put it, but now he had no choice but to acknowledge her summons.

Grumbling to himself, Leonard snatched up the coffee he had been waiting for and made his way to the only unoccupied table in the whole mess hall. He hadn't realized so many people would be off-shift at this hour, and he certainly hadn't expected to see _her._

Ever since his conversation with Jim he had felt bad about the way he'd treated Victoria, of course, but he hadn't had the courage or the time to go and see her. For one thing, she was never around: Natira Woodville had hardly any friends, she had no hobbies that anyone knew of, and whoever _did_ know her on the ship was unwilling to discuss her. Even M'Benga, whom Leonard had known for years, was oddly tight-lipped about her. He knew something was weird about her, but rather than question it – M'Benga was a dog with a bone, and Leonard knew it – he simply pretended like he had no idea who she was.

The other reason was simply that Leonard had no idea what to say to her. He had thought he was on good terms with Victoria Moore, hell he'd even flirted with the woman on more than one occasion. But he hadn't known her well enough, clearly, because even though she had seemed like a good person, that didn't mean what she was doing wasn't stupid.

And Leonard hadn't felt guilty about feeling that way until he'd spotted her in the mess hall, sitting with Spock and Uhura. She looked a mess: there were bags under her eyes, her shoulder was hunched up slightly as if she was in pain, and there was a general aura of misery around her. Leonard didn't want to admit that Jim might have been right, that his words _had_ affected her deeply, but he'd only had to overhear her conversation briefly to realize that she was taking his advice, maybe a little too much to heart. Who turned down a potentially ground-breaking study in the Science department, offered by Spock himself, to analyse some crystals that even he knew weren't all that interesting?

"Morning," he said gruffly, settling down into the chair next to Uhura. The communications officer smiled at him, Spock nodded, and Victoria merely looked up once, tilted her head slightly, and returned to playing with her food. He cleared his throat. "Aren't you two supposed to be on the bridge?"

Uhura explained that they'd both decided to switch with the Beta shift so they could catch up on some work, and from the corner of his eye Leonard saw Spock turn to Victoria and speak quietly, his expression never betraying his words. But Victoria's face was expressive, almost _too_ expressive, and she couldn't control how her eyes widened and her mouth fell open slightly in clear surprise as the half-Vulcan kept talking.

And then suddenly she was _smiling,_ and Leonard stopped listening to Uhura completely. He remembered how struck he'd been by Victoria the first time he'd seen her, and how he'd thanked his lucky stars he was too old and too wary to openly gawk at a woman. Clearly, space had messed with his head, because he now found himself staring at her in slight surprise, as she beamed at Spock, her eyes dancing. Even though it looked off – the hair, the eyes, the glasses – he had to admit, there were few sights that were better than Victoria More when she was happy.

Uhura cleared her throat pointedly, and McCoy immediately turned away from Victoria. To his surprise, Uhura was giving him a knowing look. He scowled. "What?"

"Who are you trying to kid here, Leonard?" she asked. Her voice was quiet enough that Victoria wouldn't hear.

"I don't know what you're talkin' about."

"You feel guilty."

McCoy snorted. "What for?"

"I know you said something to her after the mission in sickbay, and I also know you're too much of a nice guy to not feel bad about it now. She's not Jim, Leonard," Uhura added, when McCoy turned away dismissively. "She doesn't know you only get pissedoff at people you care about. She probably thinks you hate her and trust me, that woman doesn't deserve it."

"You don't even _know_ her," said Leonard pointedly.

"I know her more than you do," said Uhura, raising her eyebrows. "I talk to her, I include her with my friends. I talk to Jim about her too, and he's so grateful to her it makes me think she can't be that bad a person, not really, if he's ready to risk everything for her."

"Jim'd risk anythin' for anyone."

"You know that's not true," Uhura rolled her eyes. "It's only for people he cares about. He cares about us, his crew. We're his family, you know that. But Tori's been his family for longer than any of us. You owe him to make things right with her, at least so she doesn't have to tiptoe around you because she thinks you hate her."

"I don't hate her," muttered Leonard, more to himself than to Uhura. He wasn't sure about his feelings for Victoria More, not yet, but at least that much was true.

"Then play nice," said Uhura. Leonard threw her a wary look, but she was already standing and picking up her empty tray. "Spock, shall we?" she asked, addressing the half-Vulcan in a voice that left no room for arguments.

Spock nodded, said his goodbyes to both Victoria and Leonard, and followed Uhura out of the mess hall. Leonard tried to find it in himself to scowl at their retreating backs, but he couldn't do it. He merely sighed tiredly.

Across from him, Victoria had put her fork down and was fiddling with her sleeve, locks of dark hair falling out of her once-neat bun. She was tired and slightly uncomfortable, and very, very anxious to leave. She didn't want to be rude, which was ridiculous considering the way Dr. McCoy had talked to her last time, but she wasn't an animal, or a child with no sense of good behaviour. She could be polite.

"Where you headin' now?" asked McCoy suddenly. Victoria almost jumped when he spoke. Even while she'd debated with herself, she hadn't thought that he'd address her first.

It was annoying that his words made her want to smile. She had missed that damn accent. "Nowhere in particular," she answered calmly, looking up and fixing her eyes onto a point slightly above his ear. "I'm off-shift now."

"Ah," McCoy nodded. Victoria waited for a few seconds, eyes still on his ear. When he didn't speak again, she closed her eyes, let out a deep breath and stood up. She wasn't very hungry anymore.

"I'll see you later," she said, but she knew she wouldn't. Her leaving would probably help him finish his meal, if anything.

To her surprise, McCoy stood up as well. "If you ain't got anywhere to be, I'd like to walk with you," he said. His voice was even, if slightly stiff.

Unable to think of a single reason why she should say no that wouldn't lead to a scene, Victoria nodded and dumped her tray, leading the way out of the mess hall. She hadn't been planning to go anywhere in particular. The rec room was normally empty at this time, and if she was feeling particularly suffocated in her bedroom she might have gone there to read a book, or begged Hikaru to spar with her if he was free. However, McCoy seemed to have a destination in mind. Without even touching her, he steered her in the general direction of the brig, which made her wonder where exactly they were going. When he punched in the access code to one of the doors in the hallway, though, she finally realized where they were.

The viewscreens on the _Enterprise_ were particularly high-resolution, befitting the Federation flagship. Victoria had never really paid them much attention before – they were useful if you worked on the bridge, and specially comforting if you were looking forward to landing on a specific planet. But for her, they had never held much charm.

The view really was spectacular, though. She folded her arms behind her back, drinking in the vast cosmos, as if the only thing separating her from it was indeed a thin sheet of glass. It was breath-taking.

"Funnily enough, aviophobia doesn't act up near the viewscreens," commented McCoy. Victoria had almost forgotten he was there.

She raised her eyebrows at him. _"You_ have aviophobia?"

He scowled, for a moment looking very much like the man she had almost befriended back on Earth. "You tellin' me Jim's never mentioned it?"

"I'd never let you forget it if he had," she said teasingly. McCoy's eyes shot to hers, and they were bright with amusement. Victoria smiled, and then remembered the last time they had spoken. Her smile fell, and she bit her lip before turning back to the view. "It's very pretty," she said, knowing that she needed to fill up the silence. "Did you know that there are almost –"

"I owe you an apology, darlin'," his voice cut off her random comment, and Victoria immediately turned towards him. His face was blank as he leaned against one of the pillars to the side, a few feet away from her. Nothing in his posture said he was apologetic, but his eyes were sincere.

Victoria took a deep breath. "You didn't say anything wrong, Dr. McCoy," she said quietly. "I did take advantage of you as CMO, and if something had happened to me or because of me you would have felt responsible. I should be apologising for putting you in that position."

She didn't know what it was that she had said, but McCoy was grimacing at her words. "Don't do that," he shook her head. "Christ, Victoria, even if what I said was true, I was _way_ outta line, and you know it. I'm surprised you didn't hit me."

"That wouldn't have accomplished anything," said Victoria. She had to turn away. He had used her first name. Why did that make her want to smile again? "You were angry, and you had every right to be."

"I _was_ angry," admitted McCoy. "I ain't anymore. My bark's worse than my bite, I've been told," he offered her a wan smile, and she couldn't help but return it hesitantly. "I shouldn't have talked to you like that. Just admit it," he said warningly, when she opened her mouth to argue. "Circumstances don't matter. I should've know better."

"Probably," admitted Victoria. "But I do understand _why_ you were angry."

"That's very kind of you," he sounded faintly amused now. "D'you always make up excuses to defend people who've been assholes to you, or am I a special case?"

The tension was broken. Victoria rolled her eyes. "I'm not _defending_ you, I'm telling you that I understand why you acted like a complete dickhead."

"Ouch," he didn't sound hurt at all. He almost sounded pleased. "Does that mean you accept my apology?"

"If you accept mine."

"You got nothin' to be sorry for, darlin'."

"Be that as it made, it's a two-way street," she inclined her head slightly. "Truce?"

McCoy pushed himself off the pillar, closing the distance between them in a few quick strides. He was standing closer than strictly necessary, but Victoria didn't back away. In her work-wear high heels, she was still a few inches shorter than him, but not enough to feel intimidated. He smirked. "Truce," he agreed, holding out his hand. Victoria accepted it, and almost rolled her eyes when McCoy pressed a kiss to her knuckles instead of shaking her hand.

Almost.

She ended up giggling instead.

"You're pretty charming when you want to be, Dr. McCoy," she commented. She hoped he couldn't see the blush on her cheeks.

McCoy shrugged. "Don't know what you're talkin' about, darlin'."

"Sure you don't."

"All I know is, space is a lot more bearable with people you trust," he wasn't teasing her anymore. He was looking at her pointedly. "What do you think?"

Victoria sighed. "I agree," she said, her tone clearly showing how unwilling she was to discuss the reason for their conflict in the first place. "But trust is… it's a touchy subject with me. And this isn't just about that."

"I figured," something in his own tone told her that he knew more about her than he was letting on. She glanced at him, but he was looking out the viewscreen. "I have a suggestion."

"Go on?"

"I need to know what's goin' on, there's no gettin' around it," he said, and once again Victoria appreciated his matter-of-fact way of speaking. "But I know you won't tell me just like that. We barely know each other, you don't trust me, and I may have been harsh about it before, but the fact is I don't trust you either."

Victoria grimaced. "Is there going to be a happy end to this conversation?"

"Hopefully," McCoy almost smiled. "How 'bout we try out this crazy thing called bein' friends?"

Victoria blinked. "You want to be friends?"

"Pretty much."

"With me?"

"That's the idea."

"Even though you know you could just order me to tell you everything?" she demanded. "You're my commanding officer, I'd have to tell you or I could be locked up for insubordination. Or you could make Jim tell you, I know he would if you asked him right. _Or_ you could threaten to rat me out. I mean, I have some pretty powerful friends but if you went public with whatever little you know about me it could majorly hurt my career, even land me in some trouble. Or even –"

"Hey," he interrupted her rant suddenly, his face a cross between amused and exasperated. "I'm not gonna do any of that stuff. I'm a grouch, Victoria, and I'm not very nice to people, but I'm not _that_ much of an asshole. And I'd rather you told me what's really goin' on without any coercion involved, honest."

Victoria was touched. These weren't the actions of a man who simply felt bad for yelling at her. He was truly sorry, and he genuinely wanted to help her. She wondered how long it had taken Leonard McCoy to figure out how hopelessly lonely she was here, on a starship surrounded by people she couldn't connect with.

"So?" he interrupted her musings, and Victoria was only a little amused to see that he actually looked nervous. "What d'you think?"

She continued to look at him, pretending to consider his question. But there was nothing to consider, not really. She was tired of always being too careful, too selfless, too cold. "I think being friends with you will be easier than either of us think, Dr. McCoy," she said finally.

McCoy grinned. "If you quit callin' me _Dr. McCoy,_ we can make a good start."

That made her smile. "I'm sorry. What do your friends call you, then?"

He rolled his eyes. "Don't have many friends. Jim calls me Bones."

Victoria wrinkled her nose. "No offense, but I'll stick with Leonard until I can think of something better. _Bones_ is just morbid, and it makes you sound like you have one foot in the grave."

"Being friends with Jim'll do that to you."

"I raised that kid and I'm still standing."

"You're somethin' else, darlin'."


	25. Chapter 25

**Twenty Four**

Two weeks after Leonard and Victoria's new-found friendship, the _Enterprise_ hit an ion storm.

In most cases, travelling at warp speed meant they would have been able to avoid the worst of it, save a few jostles here and there. Unfortunately, Commander Scott had decided that now was the prime time to do some integral repairs to their warp core, which meant they were stuck cruising through unchartered space for the next week, at least. Normally, this would have been fine on its own, but since the decision had been made without consulting the Science department, there had been no way for them to warn the captain that they were due to hit an ion storm during the week of repairs. When the memo had arrived stating that they were due to drop out of warp soon, Homer and Victoria had exchanged looks of confusion before ordering an ensign to dispatch a brief to the bridge immediately to alert the captain of the impending storm.

Jim stormed into the Science department ten minutes after the brief had reached him, looking ready to kill someone. Fortunately for everyone involved, the first person he ran into was Victoria.

"Calm down," said Victoria. Pointedly, she walked out of the lab, and Jim followed. When they were out in the hallway, which was empty since it was still early, she leaned back against the wall and gestured for him to speak. "Okay, go on."

"Why didn't anyone tell me?" he demanded. "I need to know these things!"

"I'm an exobiologist, Jim. Warp cores and ion storms are not what I keep track of."

"Then who does?"

Victoria winced. "I assume Homer or Spock do these things, but you won't gain anything by yelling at them now. Just take it easy. We can pilot through the storm, it isn't meant to be a bad one."

Jim ran a hand through his hair in frustration. "But we're miles away from help. Something could go really, really wrong."

"It won't," said Victoria soothingly. "A few scrapes, some people may experience motion sickness, but the likelihood of major injuries is really low. And Hikaru is an incredible pilot, you have nothing to worry about. _Why_ are you worried anyway?" she gave him a suspicious look. "I thought you'd enjoy this."

Jim immediately looked away, and Victoria narrowed her eyes. Even as a child, he had been unable to look into her eyes and lie. It was why it had gotten much easier for him to lie to her over the years, since they only spoke through the phone and emails. Otherwise, she always knew.

"Just trying to be responsible," said Jim defensively.

"You're lying."

"I'm not!"

"I will find out," said Victoria warningly. "But I don't have time right now. We need to stabilize the lab in case of violent movement. I'll see you later."

Jim muttered something under his breath but nodded, stomping off back to the bridge while Victoria returned to the lab, still wondering why he was so angry.

A few hours later, she learned why.

Spock came into the lab, armed with a flotilla of questions for Homer regarding the procedure to be implemented during the storm. For once, Victoria was glad she wasn't in charge, and slightly impressed that Homer was able to keep up with the half-Vulcan, not even faltering as he rattled off statistics and plans that were to be put into practice by the time Alpha shift was over. When Spock approached her after he was done with Homer, Victoria was almost smiling.

"Commander," she greeted him. "How can I help?"

"Dr. Woodville," Spock nodded in return. "According to the roster prepared at the beginning of our journey from Yorktown, you are the officer on-duty in case of an ion storm, to record readings from the magnetic field since the usual sensors will have to be shut down," he dropped a PADD onto her workspace. "I have prepared a list of functions you must implement in order to achieve the best possible readings, along with the instruction manual on procedure of evacuation before the captain releases the pod and we make contact with the storm. You are scheduled to be in the ion pod at 2300 hours six shifts from now."

Victoria blinked. "I'm the duty officer in charge of the ion pod?"

"Affirmative, lieutenant."

"I thought –"

"Duty rotas cannot be altered so close to the time, lieutenant, and you are by far one of the most qualified scientists on this ship," said Spock. Victoria felt as though she ought to be flattered at his words, but he wasn't praising her. For Spock, this was merely a fact. She _was_ good. "In addition, I believe after our last conversation when you requested more solo tasks that this will be a good way for you to ease yourself into more advanced projects."

Victoria raised an eyebrow. "Did Uhura tell you to add that last part?"

Spock didn't smile, but his posture did relax slightly, so Victoria knew he was amused. "Lieutenant Uhura is indeed aware of your assignment, and she advised me to tell you that she agrees with me."

"Alright," said Victoria. She picked up the PADD and nodded slowly. "Is there a –"

"I have equipped the PADD with a simulation exercise regarding your exit from the ion pod so that your assignment may go smoothly, and you are at liberty to inspect the pod any time before your deployment," said Spock, already knowing what she was going to say. "I have also left it up to your discretion to inform the captain."

Victoria winced. "Gee, thanks, Spock."

"You are very welcome, lieutenant."

 **!**

Leonard shifted the pack of hyposprays from one hand to the other awkwardly, his eyes fixed on the door in front of him. He knew he didn't need to be here. Nurse Riley had made that clear twenty minutes ago when he'd given her the rest of the night off and volunteered to deliver Dr. Woodville her usual dose of medications himself. M'Benga had given him a knowing look he had pointedly ignored, and he had also told himself it wasn't wrong to also bring the woman a cup of coffee when he knew for a fact she would have just gotten off-shift less than ten minutes before his arrival.

Okay, so he'd checked her schedule. It was still normal.

Mentally berating himself, he pressed the intercom button and waited, not allowing himself to dwell on his reasons for coming any longer. They had said they'd be friends, and friends did this kind of stuff for each other. Fortunately, his thoughts were interrupted when the intercom rang out and a smooth voice spoke over the line.

 _"_ _Yes?"_

"It's me," said Leonard, not feeling the need to clarify. He doubted she got many visitors.

He was right. The door slid open immediately and he found Victoria standing on the other side.

"Hi," she greeted, head tilted to one side as she smiled. She didn't look annoyed, which he took as a good sigh. But she _did_ look surprised. "I didn't expect to see you here."

"I come bearing gifts," he said dryly, holding up the injections. He saw Victoria's eyes widen in understanding, but also saw how they lingered on the Styrofoam cup in his other hand. Smirking, he offered it to her. "It's for you. Black, no sugar?"

"My hero," she smiled, accepting the cup. "Well, you've come all this way, so you might as well come in," she stepped aside and gestured for him to enter. "Perfect timing, actually. I was about to comm and ask if I could come to sickbay later."

"Why?" Leonard followed her inside and paused in the entryway, unsure of where to go. The small sitting-room of her quarters had the same, staple furniture everyone else's did: desk, chair, sofa, an extra armchair and a coffee table. One corner was devoted to a small kitchenette with a sink and replicator, along with some shelves that he noted were empty. What was different about Victoria's room, however, was the fact that every available surface was covered with paper.

"Sorry about the mess," she picked up a random sheaf of papers off the sofa and indicated for him to sit, perching herself on the coffee table in front of him when he did. "I've been reading up on ion storms and the _Enterprise's_ ion pod, and I don't have much time to familiarise myself with it."

Leonard frowned as he noticed the scribbled notes on the papers closest to him. "What kind of research is that?"

"The kind that you do when you're put on rotation to observe an ion storm, of course," Victoria looked at him curiously. "You didn't know? Someone's making a ship-wise announcement soon, I think."

"Hasn't happened yet. Come on," he gestured for her to turn around and opened the bag of hyposprays, taking them out carefully. "Let's get this over with."

"You didn't have to come all the way here for this, you know," said Victoria. She turned to her side and gathered up her hair up her hair of her neck, which Leonard noticed was loose, and leaned closer to him. "I can do this myself, I've had a lot of practice."

"No wonder you're gettin' a scar," said Leonard dryly. He pressed the three hyposprays against her neck in quick succession, trying not to dwell on how her shampoo smelled like strawberries. "Leave this stuff to the professionals, eh?"

"Well, if this particular professional can spare a few minutes every two weeks to come see me, I might be open to it," she winked, the teasing unmistakable. She was flirting, again. And he had no idea how to respond, again.

Leonard cleared his throat pointedly. "So, you were talkin' about ion storms?" she nodded. "Exactly how dangerous is this?"

"It shouldn't be, if my predictions are right and the storm stays below grade seven," Victoria shrugged. "Standard protocol is to eject the ion pod before we make actual contact with the storm anyway, and I have no interest in being on it when it hurtles into deep space without an anchor. As long as Jim isn't too trigger-happy with the eject button, it should be pretty easy."

Leonard picked up one of the papers scattered around the sofa and glanced at the calculations, his own training as a science officer coming back to him. "I'm guessin' Jim isn't happy you're doin' something this dangerous."

"I haven't talked to him about it yet," admitted Victoria. "But I think he already knows, he was in the lab freaking out like a puppy a few hours ago. There's nothing to worry about, though, it's completely safe and if not me, someone else would be doing it anyway."

Leonard grunted non-committedly, trying not to let the spike in anxiety show on his face as he read through her calculations again. According to her own work, she had a very small window in which to escape the ion pod, or the captain would be forced to eject it while she was inside, since it was a matter of safety for the whole ship. The idea made him feel faintly sick. He cleared his throat. "So why'd you need to come to sickbay then?"

"Oh, I need a clean bill of health before I can officially go into the pod," said Victoria, waving a hand dismissively. "Since you're the only one who can read my medical file and make an accurate judgement, I thought I'd come to you."

"Even though I still don't know everything?" asked Leonard pointedly.

Victoria's smile didn't waver. "I was hoping we could come to an agreement about that, actually."

"Are you really in the position to be makin' the rules right now, darlin'?" Leonard raised an eyebrow.

"Definitely not, but you wouldn't deny a girl a small favour, would you?" she batted her eyelashes exaggeratedly.

Leonard snorted. "Damn you, woman. What d'you need?"

"I need two senior officers to sign off on my simulation for the ion storm, and since you have to do my physical anyway, I figured two birds with one stone?"

"That's it?" Leonard frowned. "Provided you pass the simulation exercise, signing off ain't gonna be a problem."

"Yeah, that's not all you'll be doing," Victoria winced. "I kind of need the captain to sign off too, so –"

"You want me to sit back while Jim freaks out about you doin' something even _he_ thinks is dangerous?" Leonard snorted and made to stand up. "No chance. You're on your own, darlin'."

"Oh, come on!" Victoria grabbed his sleeve before he could get up. "I told you I had a solution!"

"What could you possibly have that'd make me endure an hour of Jim's whining?" demanded Leonard.

Victoria grinned.

 **!**

"This is so dangerous."

"You do more dangerous things every time you go planet-side," said Victoria, continuing to walk towards the simulation chamber calmly.

"And you yell at me every time!" countered Jim desperately. "An ion storm is no joke, Tori!"

"Don't be an idiot. It's Force-3 at the most, and you know we're not in trouble unless it's at least a seven," she increased her pace to catch a turbolift that was just closing, breathing a small sigh of relief when she saw that Jim was holding off on arguing with her in the company of the two ensigns who were currently occupying the lift.

As soon as the doors opened, Victoria tried to dart away, but Jim kept up with her easily. "I don't like you being up there all alone," he continued, wringing his hands. "Maybe we should try and get a replacement."

"Are you saying that as my captain, or as my friend?" Victoria gave him a pointed look. "Because if you're saying it as my captain, you know it's a bad call. I'm probably the most qualified person you have on this ship to observe an ion storm in a quadrant of space that is unexplored. And if you're saying it as my friend, you're being unprofessional. You know I can do this."

"But I don't _want_ you to!" Jim ran a hand through his hair exasperatedly. "That has to count for something, right?"

"You sound like a child," they reached the simulation chamber and Victoria inputted her access code. "Do you want to come and watch, or will it be too much for you?"

Jim glared. "I _have_ to be here. If you don't pass the simulation, I get to assign the task to someone else," his face lit up suddenly. "Hey, maybe I should –"

"What took you so long?" McCoy's gruff voice interrupted Jim, and Victoria sighed internally with relief. The doctor had already set up the simulation chamber to mimic the ion pod perfectly, and was balancing his PADD in one hand as he read something on the control panel's screen.

"Sorry, I got side-tracked," said Victoria. She jerked her head in the blonde captain's direction. "Still baby-sitting."

"I know the feeling," said McCoy. He offered her the PADD and indicated the control panel. "I got it all set up, but take a look anyway. Spock said –"

"Hey!" Jim cut him off, and both science officers turned to look at their captain curiously. He was staring at them in shock. "What, you two are _friends_ now?"

Victoria blinked. "You wanted us to be friends."

"You _told_ us to be friends," added McCoy.

"Well, yeah, but you're, like, _real_ friends," Jim gestured between them wildly.

"As opposed to what, kid, fake friends?" McCoy rolled his eyes. "Two senior ranking officers need to sign off on this mission. Who better than the captain and the ship's CMO?"

Victoria wrinkled her nose in distaste. "That is _not_ why I asked you to be here, Leonard."

Leonard turned to face her in confusion. "You want to tell him why else I'm here?"

Victoria shrugged and held her hand out for the PADD again. "Did you adjust the time like I said?"

"Hello, stop talking about me like I'm not here!" interjected Jim. "Bones, what the hell is going on?"

"It's thirty seconds below the predicted time," Leonard nodded to Victoria and then turned to Jim. "Look, kid, I ain't happy about this either, but Tori and I made a deal."

 _"_ _What deal?"_ demanded Jim, his voice almost shrill.

"I told him he could have access to my unredacted medical file if he made sure you let me go on this mission without a fuss," said Victoria without looking up for the PADD.

Jim gaped at them both. "This is insubordination," he said finally. "This is definitely against some code of ethics."

"Surprisingly, no," McCoy shrugged and threw an arm around Jim's shoulders, leading him to the chairs that had been set up behind the simulator's control panel. "This is perfectly legal. I'll make sure you don't overreact and try to get her out of this mission, Tori gives me her medical file, and the whole thing goes off without a hitch."

Jim looked at him suspiciously. "And why are you here, instead of Spock?"

Leonard snorted. "What kind of a deal could she have made with that goblin, eh?"

"Don't be mean," scolded Victoria. "I could have probably traded Spock a few unpublished research papers."

"Trust me, I think I need the medical file more than Spock needs extra readin' material. C'mon, Jim," Leonard nudged him towards the viewing chamber. "We're gonna sit down, have a drink, and watch a perfectly capable officer pass a perfectly easy simulation. Got it?"

Jim allowed himself to be led, but frowned when they sat down. "We're drinking on duty?"

Leonard shrugged and took out a small hip-flask from inside his pocket, quirking an eyebrow at his friend. "I ain't averse to drinkin' on my own, y'know."

Jim looked at the flask suspiciously, and the Victoria's voice rang out over the speaker. _"Ready to go, boys. We have six scenarios, beginning with this one. Computer, activate simulation code alpha delta six nine indigo."_

The chamber they were watching suddenly lit up, and as the lights dimmed they caught a glimpse of a perfect replica of the inside of an ion pod, before it was rocked with what looked like a violent earthquake. Caught off-guard, Victoria grasped at the control panel and made a face, managing to her to her chair and buckle in just before another tremor passed through the chamber. One of the screens began to fluctuate, just as the computer started reporting on the failure of several core functions, including the oxygen bank.

Jim grimaced. "I think I'll take that drink, Bones."


End file.
